For many artists around the world, particularly those lurking in the underground and the aboveground of the interweb, the release of the movie Drive was somewhat of an awakening. In the wake of its release and the subsequent release of it’s soundtrack, multiple artistic interpretations of “music for driving to” have appeared. All of them seem to center around the darkly ominous, yet often pretty cheesy 80s style synth beats, arpeggios and cold-blooded square waves that the Drive soundtrack showcased. Lets not call it a trend or anything, or else it might become a trend. Crystal Hell Pool’s debut for Debacle Records, “Domain” plays almost like a musical game, one where an artist or group sets up rules to follow when composing something. The entire 30+ minutes of the disc is spread out over 11 tracks that are more or less continuations of the previous song, the only exception being “Strange Place and Time” which sounds almost ambient. Considering how dark and horrific “Domain” manages to be without lyrical assistance, it is quite easy listening. The tempo hardly strays from a moderate stomp, enough to quicken ones heartbeat. The synthesizer chords are bleak and sound like they are ringing through a totally obliterated set of sub-woofers, but they still leave a pleasant ringing in the ears. For all its same-ness, “Domain” has many subtle nuances that make the album worth it. Also, it is damn good music for driving to. Especially at night. In the rain.
