My introduction to THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS was The Crushed Velvet Apocalypse LP in 1990, and I scooped The Maria Dimension as soon as it dropped the following year. Both records were on Play It Again Sam, a label more known for proto-industrial and acid house releases, so for years the band was linked (in my band) to that scene - it's the only reason I checked the band out in the first place (and where is THE CASSANDRA COMPLEX now....?). It's an association that's not entirely unwarranted but, since the early 1980s, The DOTS have consistently held a zone far outside the realm of simple classifications. Psychedelic and ethereal sounds that might owe more to early PINK FLOYD than to experimental and electronic music, The Maria Dimension is full of in depth orchestral arrangements, with tracks like "Pennies For Heaven" serving as multi-layered sequels to "Just A Lifetime" and "The Pleasure Palace" from the previous record. While there's no "I Love You In Your Tragic Beauty" here (though I would argue that there are few equals to that song on any record released by any band at any time....it's like the fucking "Angel Of Death" of melancholic psychedelia), the collision of Krautrock and shameless individualism with a true hallucinatory sonic experience ("The Grain Kings," lights off, full volume) makes for a record that I might enjoy even more than its predecessor. Oh...I snagged this cassette in a 50¢ bin somewhere in Arizona, so....the hunt is still worth it.
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