Imagine the Mute catalogue circa 1985 chopped up, crunched and reassembled.
The exploded view, deadpan pop of Model 91 marks the recorded debut of the Brooklyn, NY duo Christmas Decorations. Using vocals, guitar, bass guitar, primitive digital sequencers, and melodica, Christmas Decorations recorded Model 91 in Spring 2002. The band call their music "ambient punk" and point to modern electronic composers like Gert-Jans Prins, Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto) and Wolfgang Voight (Gas, M:15) and abrasive minimalists like The Shadow Ring as inspirations as well as older referents like Ike Yard and Desmond Simmons. Christmas Decorations take a succinct, direct approach to song structure and instrumentation while experimenting with mood and melody.
Christmas Decorations are Steve Silverstein (who has played improv rock under the psuedonym Madam Estrella, written for Tape Op and done free lance recording) and Nick Forte (formerly in Rorschach, Computer Cougar and most recently Beautiful Skin). The splintered pop and fractured ambience Christmas Decorations play will soon be road tested, with live shows scheduled for the fall.