Dents

[+] Sound Check

Summer was upon us in the blink of an eye.

2D called the four of us to the common room to announce the new album. He told me beforehand, paying respect to our shared secret. A large factor of the timing was because we seriously needed some help on getting the rest of the tracks to mold into a complete sound.

Even though I always knew it would be a temporary arrangement, I was a little distraught. I'd miss our late night escapades to the basement. There would be no more interminable hours invested in production with just the two of us.

I gave 2D my best smile and sat on the couch before him as we waited for everyone else to gather. The cushions spit out a puff of dust and crumbs from an open zipper hanging loosely off the cover. I was fidgeting with excitement. Each time I'd move around too much the sofa would cough up some new variety of foulness. Considering how utterly disgusting it was, it probably should've been replaced a long time ago.

It was simply another untended thing in a house full of untended things.

I wondered, fleetingly, how Murdoc was doing.

I didn't have the scorched-Earth level of hatred for him that I used to. I understood his nature. The intentions behind his misguided actions had become a lot clearer to me than they were before. Still, he was a bastard, so I preferred to think that he wasn't all cozied up in that cell of his. Perhaps McGuinness made life a little rougher for him some days. The thought brought me a modicum of comfort.

Noodle arrived shortly after I did. She plopped on the couch beside me, acknowledging me with a pleasant smile and a nod of her head. Ace followed behind her. Instead of sitting with us, he stood behind the sofa and leaned over the back deck.

Russel was the last to enter. He came into the room, but he didn't settle into it.

I wasn't happy with how I acted when he'd come to talk to me a couple of months ago. Regardless, I also didn't think that I was wrong. I was harsh, definitely. But I wasn't wrong.

I hadn't built up the nerve to apologize. I doubted it would be taken as sincere. After all, I had completely denied the possibility of 2D being possessed in the first place. It probably didn't sit well with Russel, given how certain he seemed of his own possession. I had dismissed him not once, but twice. Things hadn't been the same between us since.

2D clapped his hands together. He drew our undivided attention. When it sunk in that everyone was already looking at him patiently, he suddenly became incredibly self-conscious. It was endearing how he could perform on stage in front of thousands of strangers with no issue, but leading the conversation with the four of us turned him into a ball of anxiety.

More than anyone else's, he valued our opinions highly. It was rather flattering.

"Alrigh', le's get started. I fink. R - Righ'."

He floundered with the buttons of the stereo on top of the TV. It was outdated. Every radio broadcast was always drowned in a fizz of static, though it did alright with CDs most of the time. Despite having gone out of style at least a decade ago, 2D made a habit of burning all of his demos to CDs. Ever since Noodle salvaged some of his work from Plastic Beach, he became implicitly convinced of their reliability.

My experience with CDs was sufficiently dissimilar to his, but I wasn't going to spoil it for him.

Noodle turned to me with a perplexed expression. Her hair bobbed to the side. Her emerald eyes asked me what was taking so long. I shrugged.

Even though 2D used the stereo nearly every day, it took him a couple of minutes to get it functional. Once he pressed the button, music echoed out from the speakers and filled every crevice of the room. The vibrations echoing off the walls shook the cobwebs in the corners sporadically.

2D remained there in the center of our gaze proudly. He crossed his arms in a fruitless effort to appear more confident.

It was apparent that we'd all expected him to explain what he was doing first. He didn't do that. He actually hadn't said anything at all that would give anyone an inkling of an idea as to why he gathered us here.

Maybe he thought the music would speak for itself.

Truly, he probably just forgot.

Noodle and Russel appeared terribly confused about what they were listening to. Alternatively, Ace seemed to know exactly where this was headed. 2D was not known for being a good liar, so I assumed Ace was aware of our scheme from the first day onward.

2D continued to stand there with a forced face of pride. He was like a statue. His eyes glinted brilliantly in the poorly lit room. His shoulders trembled, betraying the illusion of confidence he wanted to portray.

When the song ended, his posture relaxed. He looked at each of us as if he were asking if we had any questions. 

Noodle raised her hand. Her voice was as quiet as ever. I could hear a tinge of enthusiasm creeping through it.

"Are you creating a new album?"

All of 2D's earlier shyness vanished. He laughed wholeheartedly, finally realizing he hadn't explained anything at all.

"Sorry, yeh," he snickered, "I'm workin' on a new album. Saoirse's been helpin' me a lot, but we're needin' yew free to get it soundin' righ'. Et's good so far I fink, bu' et's not Gorillaz yet, yeh?"

2D reached a hand out to me, beckoning me to stand beside him. I hadn't pitched in enough to deserve such praise. The fact he'd recognized me as having a hand in the development regardless of that made me feel warm inside. 

"You're right," Noodle replied candidly.

The scar on her face healed substantially. Every time I saw her she somehow looked younger than she was before.

"It is good, but it is not Gorillaz yet. Show me what else you have."

2D gladly complied. We went through the rest of the tracks. Most were only skeletons of a sound. A few had come along quite well thanks to the additions of Ace. Noodle mentioned that Souk Eye could desperately use a guitar melody. 2D resoundingly agreed.

Ace hadn't said anything. He was grinning sharply like he was in on some sort of joke. His sunglasses, which he wore inside of the house almost constantly, shined softly in the dimly lit common room.

Russel hadn't said anything either. He looked like he was somewhere else.

We began recording more material that evening, intent on a release with 2D's guidance. He had taken the band in another direction musically. He had also become the de facto leader of our troupe in Murdoc's absence.

It was a relief to have some stability after fumbling aimlessly for so long.