2759. The Dissociatives - ‘Horror With Eyeballs’ (2004)
All of that time I was dead Limbless in bed, sedated experiment
from the album The Dissociatives
Australian DJ Paul Mac, of local dance success story Itch-E & Scratch-E, first crossed paths with Daniel Johns when he remixed Silverchair’s number one single ‘Freak’. The “Remix For Us Rejects” was unlike anything Silverchair had released to that point, and represented an openness to electro that would inform the post-grunge band’s future releases, emancipating them from the trappings of their genre and helping them to eventually transcend it. Mac then contributed to Silverchair’s 1999 LP Neon Ballroom, remixing lead single ‘Anthem For The Year 2000’, before the Johns-Mac partnership finally led to a proper collaboration, the experimental electronic EP I Can’t Believe It’s Not Rock. The EP was described as music “we never thought anybody else would ever hear”, and it shows - the songs are raw and unpolished, worthwhile but not representative of the duo’s full potential.
By 2004, Silverchair’s fourth album Diorama had taken them further into the pop mainstream than ever, establishing them unquestionably as the biggest band in Australia, while Paul Mac had become a pop star in his own right with his debut solo album 3000 Feet High. Both were in their imperial eras, and the time was perfect to announce their reunion - this time as The Dissociatives, an act that sat somewhere between Diorama and 3000 Feet High, unencumbered by the expectations of a rock or pop audience.
Johns always incorporated odd turns of phrase into Silverchair lyrics, but on The Dissociatives, he really let his imagination run wild, and nowhere is that more apparent that on the record’s best song, ‘Horror With Eyeballs’. Lines like “I feel root vegetable” would be insanely pretentious if you didn’t know for sure than Johns really believed in it, whatever it meant - plus the melody is so undeniable that it doesn’t matter either way. The more palatable (but still excellent) ‘Somewhere Down The Barrel’ was the hit single from The Dissociatives, but ‘Horror With Eyeballs’ most effectively captures what made the album such a fascinating project. The Dissociatives were intended to continue beyond their self-titled album, but a follow-up never materialised, which may be for the best - the record was the natural conclusion of this partnership, an imperfect, adventurous digression from the Daniel Johns and Paul Mac we thought we knew.
‘Horror With Eyeballs’ audio:
Written by Richard Eric, 31/7/18
