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The Delta Fiasco is a trio from Liverpool, England which has been together for a while --- since 2004, actually --- and garnered a cult following more through their live performances than their recordings. Their recording history is somewhat vague, and I‘ll admit straight up that I couldn‘t locate much before 2007. Even at that, DREAMEATER, their new release, is an EP consisting of the single “Paperhouse” and a remix of same, along with five other tracks. I forget sometimes that in this era of downloads and such artists are gradually more focused on releasing single tracks, or a handful of same, rather than a full throated fifteen track project; on the other hand, perhaps The Delta Fiasco is more focused with DREAMEATER on quality than quantity. If the latter is the case, the band has succeeded.

DREAMEATER is aptly named, a set of dark, vaguely disturbing tracks set in the industrial genre yet with a sense of dynamics that is considerate of the casual listener without sacrificing the brooding atmosphere that one would inspect with a project such as this. Heavy on guitars and keyboards, DREAMEATER brings to mind a crowded, sweaty audience that is on the verge of swerving out of control at any minute. I’m reminded variously of the better tracks of The Cult, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a reined-in Soft Machine, a less commercial A Flock of Seagulls, and at times an echo of Franz Ferdinand. And yet, even with all of those influences, The Delta Fiasco has a unique sound.

Being of an age where one associates the term “Liverpool Sound” with…something else, DREAMEATER is a surprise, and a pleasant, if disturbing one. I get the sense that these guys can tear it up in a live performance, and while their music sounds as if it is better suited to clubs than to stadiums, anthemic tracks like “Uh-Oh” and “Paperhouse” should get the armies of the nights up and marching, whether DREAMEATER is playing over their ipods or by The Delta Fiasco right in front of them. Recommended.