Bermuda Drain

Bermuda Drain is a studio album by the American artist Prurient, the stage name of Dominick Fernow. The album was released on July 11, 2011 through Hydra Head Records, and was the first release from Prurient through the label. Prurient released a single for the opening track "Many Jewels Surround the Crown" for Record Store Day in 2011.[2][10]

Bermuda Drain
Studio album by
Prurient
ReleasedJuly 11, 2011 (2011-07-11)
RecordedJuly 4 – December 31, 2010[1]
Genre
Length35:20
LabelHydra Head (HH666-220)
Producer
  • Dominick Fernow
  • Kris Lapke
Prurient chronology
The Black Post Society
(2008)		 Bermuda Drain
(2011)		 Time's Arrow
(2011)
Singles from Bermuda Drain
  1. "Many Jewels Surround the Crown"
    Released: April 16, 2011[2]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. ClubA[4]
Cokemachineglow79%[5]
Consequence of SoundC−[6]
Pitchfork7.0/10[7]
Sputnikmusic[8]
Tiny Mix Tapes[9]

Background

About Bermuda Drain's musical style, distinctive feeling and setting, Fernow said:

"Upon a recent tour of Europe, I was constantly listening to minimal techno on headphones, driving at night through tunnels, and exhausted all of the records I had brought with me. The album is meant to satisfy that feeling. I've always felt connected to landscapes, moving through them, and their linear nature. Time passing. Watching as the world rolls over you while being divorced from it. The visual essence of feedback is a thin line, just like the structure of the landscape."[11]

Concept

From lyrics, Bermuda Drain features an ambiguous plot; it chronicles the protagonist torturing and killing someone baited into meeting them, yet still featuring descriptive and near psychedelic imagery and scenery. As with all of Dominick's albums that feature lyrics, his mother and writer Jean Feraca assisted with lyrical content and narratives.

Critical reception

Bermuda Drain was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 79 based on 9 reviews.[3]

In a review for Consequence of Sound, critic reviewer Adam Kivel wrote: "The album works out to much that same tune, a sort of head-scratching confusion. It can be difficult to separate this album both in its difference from Fernow's past output and from the connections that it holds to his work with Cold Cave. Despite the ability to place this on a continuum, this is a record that sounds so dissimilar from its kin, a unique new version of an old favorite."[6] At Pitchfork, Jess Harvell explained: "Bermuda Ground isn't just pleasant by contrast with Prurient's old unholy racket. It's often actively enjoyable, albeit in a decidedly creepy way, rooted as much in familiar retro-rock moves as formless face-eating noise. Perhaps it's down to Fernow's time playing in the decidedly more accessible and anthemic synth-pop/post-punk act Cold Cave, but Bermuda Drain is full of distortion-free keyboard, perverse disco beats, moments of beauty, even hooks."[7] Jason Heller from The A.V. Club gave high praise for the release, noting that it's Prurient's "strongest statement to date, and its best album."[4]

Track listing
Bermuda Drain track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Many Jewels Surround the Crown"2:44
2."A Meal Can Be Made"2:17
3."Bermuda Drain"3:07
4."Watch Silently"3:23
5."Palm Tree Corpse"5:19
6."There Are Still Secrets"3:53
7."Let's Make a Slave"4:32
8."Myth of Sex"4:26
9."Sugar Cane Chapel"5:39

Personnel

Bermuda Drain personnel adapted from AllMusic.[1]

Music and lyrics
  • Jean Feraca – lyric assistant
  • Dominick Fernow
  • Kris Lapke – percussion, synthesizer
Production
  • Dominick Fernow – production
  • Kris Lapke – engineering, mastering, mixing, production
Artwork and packaging
  • Dominick Fernow – art direction
  • Ari Marcopoulos – photography
  • Nikolai Saveliev – design

References
  1. "Bermuda Drain – Prurient". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  2. Fact Staff (June 10, 2011). "Prurient readies Bermuda Drain LP". Fact. The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  3. "Reviews for Bermuda Drain by Prurient". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  4. Heller, Jason (Jul 19, 2011). "Prurient: Bermuda Drain". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  5. Elliot, Joel (May 12, 2011). "Cokemachineglow Review". Cokemachineglow. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  6. Kivel, Adam (July 19, 2011). "Consequence of Sound Review". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  7. Harvell, Jess (July 21, 2011). "Prurient: Bermuda Drain". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  8. Baker, Finn (August 29, 2015). "SputnikMusic Review". SputnikMusic. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  9. Redmond, Jordan. "Tiny Mix Tapes Review". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  10. Brandon (April 25, 2011). "Stream Prurient 'Many Jewels Surround The Crown' 7". Stereogum. SpinMedia. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  11. Malinsky, Ilya (April 15, 2011). "Prurient is Noise, 'Not Entertainment' — Exclusive Interview". Noisecreep. Townsquare Media. Retrieved May 16, 2015.


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