Damokles - Shining Armor

Review by Karl Magi

Overall Album Impressions

Damokles’ Shining Armor combines his inimitable voice, entertaining song lyrics and a well composed and produced synthpop sound. The retro vibes are well and truly alive here but the production is bang up to date. Most crucially, this album is pure fun to listen to!

The way in which Damokles’ voice fuses with his songwriting fits Shining Armor’s overall feeling well. One could never mistake him for any other vocalist with his unique tone and deep voice. His vocal style suits the ironic, humorous and sometimes sharp-edged lyrics of his songs and adds an extra dimension of expression.

Experience and taste define the synth sound and overall production on Shining Armor. Damokles has been making synth-based music for decades and he knows how to combine varied tones, timbres and musical colours to explore the moods he wants to create in his tracks. He’s a master at layering which results in lush soundscapes enhanced by his pin-sharp production.

I also enjoy the energy that pours from this album. Damokles has an irrepressible sense of fun and seems to focus on creating an engaging and entertaining listening experience. He takes music making seriously but his music itself is a blast to hear!

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

“Shining Armor” begins as massive drums and raised, flashing synth rings out in a powerful pattern. Rough-edged, scintillating synth and popping drums are cut into by Damokles’ rap talking about the state of the world.

His distinctive voice moves with jumping drums and angular synths slicing through the song. The vocal melody becomes more positive as the chorus sails out and the glowing synth light washes through and colossal drums batter. Damokles’ voice is totally unmistakable for anyone else's.

One of his superb, signature keytar solos swirls and roams with wild energy into the song. Damokles’ old school rap comes in again. Sharp synth angles and a dreaming, uplifting chorus climb along with glittering synths and pulsing drums. The track soars out on the chorus before silence falls.

Our storyteller laments the fact that there are “stupid people” in charge of the world who are leaving “a whole lot of ends that will never be furled.” He goes on to say that this time has been coming for a while when “opinion is outdoing facts” and lies cause no reaction. He feels that it’s “clouding up my dreams of a future of wonders.” The world is riven by inflation, bigotry, conflict and desolation now.

As the narrator elaborates, he muses that he grew up thinking that “leaders did what they should” and people were in good hands. As he got older, he realized that “it was greedy up at the top” and politicians were ignorant. He wonders if “we are all fools to put them in power” and adds that “all across the globe” it repeats as “we just consume and devour.”

In spite of all the factors he lists, our storyteller won’t give up and believes that humanity can make it but he adds, “we need help, someone to give us a hand.” He wonders about who it might be and muses about whether it’s time to “look up in the sky…hoping that ET will land.” He envisions “a night with shining, armoured ships” before a total eclipse.

The narrator goes on to say that it’s terrible when the disasters pile up but "no one cares but to fill their pockets.” He adds that humans look away, “refuse to hear the call” and wind up with “nowhere to go without rockets.” He admits that there’s a long tradition of bribery and greed, but adds that “it's time for us to make a big transition.”

He points out that caring for one another is a start but that planning ahead is “the way to winning. “ He wants to look forward to better times instead of “just patching up the wounds with a sloppy suture.” He wonders if those times will come.

Brassy, flaring synth blasts out with intense life as gigantic retro drums and dense bass leap to start “Take A Look.” Damokles’ voice carries a melody full of power as the chorus bounces out with a trumpeting synth effectively punching it up. Drums clash and hit hard along with

Damokles’ resonant voice as flickering, elevated synth skips along in a jumping melody. A slowly moving segment is accented by glowing synths that add more gleam to the music. The chorus skips along and the big drums smack into the track along with hissing cymbals before ending.

Our narrator is fed up with being bombarded by advertising for “some stuff that I never would want.” He is finished with it because he " just took a look, but I didn't like it so I looked away!” He adds that they “know the look I took” yet they were unable to “strike a nerve to make me stay.”

The teller of this tale asks for a day without “somebody wanting me…to pay for some stuff I don't need.” He adds that he is still buying things but he wants to “see what you're supplying in good time then choose on my own.”

“Home Alone” kicks off with a door knock that becomes part of a percussive pattern alongside clanking, sweeping metallic sounds. Bursting drums and sharp edged, high-pitched synth flares up as a fat, funky bass shifts underneath.

Taut synth carries an energizing melody out over massively bursting drums. Trumpeting synth unfurls as the beat drives on with a triumphant feeing before tight, clean synth pops in. Smooth, rich synth pleasingly spins out the dynamic melody and tom hits fall through.

Medium-low synth doubles the flying, elevated synth line as solidly punching drums and thick bass guide the music. The deeply groovy bass boogies along and tom hits jump. Brassy, high synth dances and drums press on before ending on the razor-edged, funkfied melody.

Rain patters down as deep, metallic bells ring out along with snapping drums and sampled voices as “It Will Come” opens. Rapidly undulating bass rapidly along with the hollow, but strong drums and the bells create a flashing light and now Damokles’ deep, unique voice carries the propulsive melody above the rushing drumbeat.

Gleaming light accents the music and the rich bells glitter solidly. Damokles’ voice has a strength and expression to it as it echoes out, the open-voiced percussion throbbing on as the whole song surges with radiant energy as the drums push and the rounded, luscious bell tones hop with unrestrained life before the sound of a train rattles through.

The storyteller is waiting for a train in the cold rain. He’s got an important appointment but “there’s still no light to see” to indicate that it’s approaching. He explains, “Nothing could be worse than if I missed it. Oh what drama it would be!”

Our narrator’s anticipation is clear as standing alone on the platform, “freezing here on my own and hopin’ the train is gonna come.” He has his phone out but there’s no information about the train and “my fingers are going so numb.” He realizes that he should’ve taken an earlier train so that “I would not be waiting here in vain.”

In an attempt to be environmentally conscious, the storyteller has got rid of his car. He adds that “there’s just a little requirement” that the train will be on time. At the moment he’s out on the platform and “I surely hope that it's really gonna come!”

“Sometimes I See Your Face” starts as oscillating bass waves rise and wash through the track along with gleaming synth flashes and sharp, clean drums. An elevated, nasal-sounding synth cries out in an impassioned melody as the crisp drums throb and the bass undulates.

The main melody has a charmingly wistful, dreaming quality as drums and bass create form and direction. The melody evolves, becomIng even more emotional and touching. It has a feeling of loss in it, but it’s a loss tempered by tender memories. Underneath it all, the guiding drums and oscillating bass keep the track flowing.

Raised, shining synth sings out with expression. I find that the melody evokes nostalgia as it soars, flying above rich depths. As the song comes to an end, the chord progression below it adds support and the melody trembles with feeling as the big drums fade out.

Glimmering synth slowly slips through “A World With 3D Printers” with crystal clarity and delicate light. A rapidly tumbling, razor-edged bass pulse and cutting drums move in along with tensely swirling synth synth. Damokles' voice has a growling power above the wildly twirling synth and colossal drums.

The vocal melody is intriguingly riven with mystery, even as it becomes majestic. Twisting, technological sound writhes before the drums punch hard and the bass drives forward. Hammering drums and huge bass slam and the cascading synths fall through the music.

There’s a mechanical quality to the musical backing along with strength and weight. Slowly moving drums tick before piercing synth unfurls and huge brushing sounds move along with Damokles’ voice and leaping background synth.

The narrator talks about 3D printing’s invention as he says that “a man in Japan - Kodama - opened a new dimension” and created an “insurgence without the drama” in doing so. He evokes the image of the world changing “layer by layer” as everything was rearranged by the idea.

Our storyteller wonders what this new world of 3D printing will be like adding that “long gone are wooden splinters” as shapes are created. He adds that now anything the mind can dream up can be created by pressing a button. He concludes, “Let´s go beyond and way above, that is the norm.”

In evolving from resins to powders and from lasers to heated nozzles “gone were the old dividers…solving the hardest of puzzles.” He points out that now everything from plastic to concrete to living cells can now be printed.

The narrator reminds his audience to “remember the craft that made everything possible when you go beyond what was once uncrossable.”

“I Know You Thought You Knew Me” comes to life as blunt, brutal bass vibrates and open-voiced drums form a steadily guiding pattern. Bass rolls and glittering synth flashes steadily. D’s unique, resonant voice comes in as medium-high synth shimmers in a melodic pattern that accents Damokles’ energetic vocals.

Underneath it all, the drums and bass drive on while high synth pulses out as the drums keep swinging. Stuttering, radiant synth joins a verse that wouldn’t be out of place in a Broadway musical. Damokles’ voice bounces and echoes above active, swaying bass. The chorus bops along as radiant synth adds beautiful, lambent energy. Dynamic, sharp-edged bass keeps rushing through before the song ends.

The teller of this tale muses that, as we travel through life, we’ll meet a wide range of people but “they’ll know only what you show them.” He goes on to say that people are layered like onions and “it goes deep, so so you don't have a clue who they are” from “cortex down to brain stem.”

Our narrator says that he knows “you thought you knew me” but points out that impression is incorrect since “Inside it's very roomy, space for the unknowable.” He adds that doing “things to make you like me” is a game he plays well. He asks, “What makes me shine so brightly? Truth?” but warns that you can never really tell.

The storyteller says that he’s got ‘the magic touch” to be able to “see what you don’t know yourself” and adjust to become another person. He concludes, "I could be a secret agent, I could be a millionaire, I could speak with a phony accent. Whatever you need, I'll be there.”

Yearning piano chords with a tinge of shadow repeat as a drumbeat very gently touches the music to open “Setting In The East.” The piano has a pained quality as clean drums form a shaping beat.

Swirling, elevated synth drifts with a touchingly elegiac and mournful quality above thick bass and clear drums. There is still hope in the melody along with more aching emotional qualities as the piano slowly moves on. Bass shifts as a drum pulse splashes widely through the track.

The high synth wanders, shot through with loss as massive drums strike the track and an undulating bass pulse moves below. A deep melancholy underpins the music, gliding along. After a drum fill, the melody climbs on the intertwining, glimmering synth as it arcs out above the powerful low end. The piano ends the track with delicate, caressing notes.

Conclusion

Shining Armor is a further showcase of Damokles’ highly engaging approach to retro-tinged synthpop. It illustrates how his individual approach to creating synth-based music remains intact and results in music that is ear-pleasing and makes for compulsive listening.