- Silent Servant is the often under-credited name when it comes to Regis's Downwards label. The Los Angeles-based producer not only manned their DO series—which has featured DVA Damas's debut EP, Tropic Of Cancer and others—he also runs Downwards America. DVA Damas, the duo of Taylor Burch and Joe Cocherell, are also from LA. No doubt the three of them are part of the same post-industrial/EBM scene there.
Drum machines aside, early DVA Damas songs had a distinctly goth sound, largely due to lots of reverb-soaked guitar licks. But last year's Wet Vision EP saw them turn towards a more electronic dance floor sound, and Clear Cut is the logical conclusion. The title track starts with a 4/4 kick, and the judicious use of guitar for rough punctuation is the perfect accompaniment for Burch's dissolute vocals. The whole thing is sexy as hell, and takes a cue from Regis's own rolling-thunder techno. "Clear Cut" is followed by slowed down, breathy dub "Do I." Another version, "In The Clear," uses some of the original's vocal and guitar samples but adds a new vocal lead for a rough, military stomper. Add to that a radio edit of the title track, and you've got a set of related but different tracks that up the ante for what a single can be.
TracklistA1 Clear Cut
A2 Do I
B1 In the Clear
B2 Clear Cut (Radio Edit)