The Beautician

California's Bay area indie-hardcore-goth veterans DEAD AND GONE return with their 3rd album (their first for GSL), The Beautician. After a premature breakup in mid-'97, the band reunited and subsequently recorded a double 7" for GSL in 2000. During DEAD AND GONE's three year recording hiatus, bassist Brian Stern, drummer Joey Perales, and guitarist/keyboardist Rockey Crane continued on together in the brief, but well-received ensemble CREEPS ON CANDY. In this newest release, The Beautician, DEAD AND GONE is reunited with singer Shane Baker for the band's first full-length release in four years, the culmination of a musical maturity and evolution developed by their near ten year history together.
As much a departure from their previous works as a naturally occurring next step, The Beautician meshes the rhythm-driven intricacies, otherworldly ROLAND HOWARD-esque guitar hauntings, and insightful, sardonic wit to which the band's previous releases only alluded. The new element of reunification in their sound bring what once were well-constructed pieces together in an album that is at once poignant, dark, calculatedly abstract, and powerful. Often compared to THE JESUS LIZARD, BIRTHDAY PARTY, and LAUGHING HYENAS, DEAD AND GONE have a presence that is undeniably their own.