catch-up

Just tossing out some reviews of records from last year that I slept on (for better and worse) before tackling some fresher stuff.

Flint Glass, "Nyarlathotep"
I'm a sucker for any pop culture product that makes even the vaguest reference to HP Lovecraft. As a dedicated scholar of Lovecraft's fiction and philosophy, this typically results either in disappointment (from the tendency in other writers to reduce his creatures to beings motivated by petty and utterly human evil, to the sheer ridiculousness of "real Necronomicons" being taken seriously by gullible idiots) or the collection of some amusing kitsch (from the charming anachronistic film adaptation of his most famous story to Cthulhu slippers). Occasionally, though, something truly remarkable, like Rudimentary Peni's "Cacophony", crops up. Over twenty years later, we have "Nyarlathotep", a Lovecraft-based record of an entirely different cast.

Flint Glass' second LP is a sleek excursion through dark ambient territory that never bores or drones. As with HPL's use of his most awful creations (after which the majority of tracks on the album are named), stark and explicit horror is left off the record, implied instead by menacing implication. When beats bubble to the surface (as on album highlight "Nephren-Ka") they evoke Lovecraft's love for the exploratory revelations of science more than any noisy and chaotic beasts. Moreover, there's a paradoxical sense of calm that starts to temper the danger this record conjures upon repeat listenings. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Flint Glass' one member, Gwenn Trémorin, elected to name this record after one of Lovecraft's most ambiguous figures. While in some fiction Nyarlathotep is wholly alien, in other works he's clearly modeled after various historical gods of science, trickery and heraldry: Loki, Hermes, Prometheus and Osiris.

For the more pragmatically minded who couldn't give a toss about Lovecraft, this is a stellar dark ambient record, with gorgeous art and packaging as well as some decent remixes from the likes of Ah Cama-Sotz and This Morn' Omina to sweeten the deal. Recommended.

Flint Glass - "Nephren-Ka"
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Apoptygma Berzerk, "Sonic Diary"
Enticed by the thoroughly stomping Mesh remake of "Mourn", I decided to wander 'round Stephen Groth's neck of the woods, to see what had changed since "Welcome To Earth". At this point, I don't think it's unfair to cast Apop as the EBM equivalent of Metallica: a string of albums loved by genre fans and critics, then a turning point record, half-full of classic jams, half-full of pitiful attempts at mainstream success, then nothing but boring faux-alterna schlock, alienating their fanbase. While Metallica and Apop might gripe that too much attention has been paid to the shifts in their respective images that accompanied their bids for crossover acceptance, I'll counter that it's more enjoyable to mock Groth's last-ditch emo-cut or Kirk Hammett's wannabe-Dave Navarro posing than it is to actually listen to "Load" or "You And Me Against The World".

Anyhow, "Sonic Diary" is a comp of cover tracks, old and new, plus a bonus disc of remixes. I'll be a weirdo and deal with the bonus disc first. The aforementioned Mesh remix remains stellar, a vengeful bootstrapping of a classic cut, but there's really nothing else of note. All but one of the other remixes are from the "Harmonizer" and "You And Me Against The World" eras and only highlight how threadbare the original versions were. That one exception is a complete remake of "Deep Red", and unless you want to know what that song might sound like if Good Charlotte covered it, I'd suggest avoiding it at all costs.

The main disc doesn't fare much better. Almost half of these tracks have already appeared on APB LPs and EPs, perhaps explaining the need for the bonus disc in order for any units to be shifted. Older covers like "All Tomorrow's Parties" and "Electricity" hold onto some charm, but recent takes on "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" and "Bizarre Love Triangle" are nothing short of criminal. Much of the newer material suffers due to Groth's attempts at stretching his voice well outside of his comfort zone, which wouldn't be half as bad if the tracks weren't structured so as to make his vocals their focal point. Just about the only recent track that does anything is "Cambodia", which chugs along nicely and I imagine might work well as the opening theme to an anime series involving airships. For real. No, no digs about a Kim Wilde cover beating out OMD or Kraftwerk - you can't hate on "Kids In America".

So, with the exceptions of "Cambodia" and the "Mourn" remake, "Sonic Diary" embodies pretty much everything that's gone wrong with Apop over the last seven years: egotistical yet pandering, bloated but short on substance, awkward and utterly forgettable. In closing, and by way of summing up how this record makes me feel, listening to it made the thought "this is a bad adaptation of a Keane song" pass through my mind. What could a "good" cover of a Keane song possible sound like? Argh. Damn you, Groth.

Apoptygma Berzerk - "Cambodia"

More Rhymes Than Leeb has Projects

Hip Hop and Industrial have had a rocky history of collaborations over the years. Despite having a lot of common ground historically (Afrika Bambattaa would spin Kraftwerk records at house parties in Brooklyn, Throbbing Gristle was influence by the dub and reggae coming out of the slums surrounding their studio) and a penchant for wanton sampling, most attempts to combine the genres are pretty underwhelming if not ouright awful. That doesn't stop us wondering though, what some team-ups between the lights of both scenes might yield. So without further ado Inner Ear Infection Presents: Industrial-Hip-Hop Collaborations We'd Like to See!

:Wumpscut: vs. The Wu-Tang Clan

Obvious one out of the way first. Rudy's productions are never short on atmosphere, and he's still capable of bringing some fly hooks now and again. The sampled guitar and breakbeat on his last real club hit 'Wreath of Barbs' even kind of sound like something the Rza might have tossed off for one of his much ballyhooed soundtrack joints. And if you check out the unforgettable 'Torture' skit from the Wu's debut album 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)' you know that Shaolin's Finest can bring the enzeit vibe if they want to. So say you get Pope Ratzinger to crank out a slow jam, get Ghost, Raekwon and Mef to spit a few roughneck bars a la 'Protect Ya Neck' and zing! A song which could in no way possibly be worse than FLA's ill-advised 'Victim of a Criminal'.

VNV Nation vs. Nas

Ronan and Mark seem to deal almost exclusively in their uplifting trance rip off business these days, but they had a few slower atmospheric jams on the first few albums which maintained an epic scope but had a darker, more forboding sound. 'Tempest' the B-Side off the Darkangel single might be the best example of this (and is a great track to boot). Meanwhile, Nas is the rapper most likely to make ill-advised religious allusions (check the cover to his bloated double-album 'Street's Disciple') and as evidenced by Puffy collab 'Hate Me Now' he can rock an epic number with the best of them. So yeah, get these guys in studio, let Ronan's just vague enough references to Christianity mix up with Nasir Jones' blatant Jesus swagger jacking come into effect and I'd wager you'd have a song of biblical proportions *rimshot*.

Cypress Hill vs. Cevin Key

Okay, this one is kind of obvious. Mr. Key's best material from the past couple of years has been what my friend Rob likes to call 'Stoner Techno', albums like Plateau's recent From the Vaults release and his two solo records from a few years back all sound best when your visiting with "The Green Guy". And Cypress Hill's weed smoking exploits need no introduction, they almost singlehandedly popularized rhyming about mary jane, mostly by rhyming about little else. It goes without saying that their music sounds best when you've burnt a few. So yeah, Get Muggs, Be Real, Sen Dog and Kevin Crompton into the studio, get them a few bags of primo chiba chiba and BAM. Guaranteed to be better than the Cypress Hill/Fear Factory team-up off that record where Burton Bell and company jumped the proverbial shark.

Jim Jones vs. Suicide Commando


Jones (aka The Dirt Angel) having deposed former Jay-Z weed carrier Cam'ron, is the erstwhile leader of New York's Dipset crew. He's not much of a rapper really, but as evidenced on last year's megahit 'We Fly High', he sounds pretty good over hard, simple synth beats. Enter Johann Van Roy, who as Suicide Commando has been producing tracks that rely on one repetitive synthline and some harsh drums for years. So get Johann to pound out a pre-set melody, get Jim to yell "Ballin'!" a bunch of times over it and I'm sure you'd have something that wouldn't be too far removed from either oeuvre. No matter what stupid shit Jones comes up with to rhyme about, it can't possibly be much dumber than anything Suicide Commando has done lyrically, ever.

Kanye West vs. Gary Numan

This one is kind of tenuous, but stick with me. Kanye is one of the most frustrating figures in hip hop, a critically beloved star of massive proportions who never seems to live up to his potential as an MC or as a Producer. Numan is a respected icon in the world of electronic music and post-post-punk, a guy who made several classic albums before a slide into mediocrity followed some years later by an unlikely resurrection doing the style of pop-industrial informed by his early records. It stands to reason that a confluence of Numan's paranoid post-human schtick and West's larger than life, flawed superstar persona would push and pull each of them in the right directions creatively speaking. If nothing else, Kanye could sample "Are Friends Electric" kinda like he sampled Daft Punk on his new single 'Stronger' and the results would be decent if not awesome.


All nonsensical skylarkings aside, there has actually been a pretty good genre crossover track this year. El-P had Trent Reznor guest on his album "I'll Sleep When You're Dead", yielding the quite excellent track 'Flyentology'. Worth a peep no matter what side of the fence you fall on.

news shorts

Andy Meya's in the process of creating a new Forma Tadre site. It's still in the middle stages of constructivitis (to cop a phrase from Uncle Mick), but there's some solid info on all aspects of the project's discography (even the photos in the liner notes!), and most importantly the news that a third Forma Tadre album is in the pipeline, making it the first in nearly ten years. Both "Navigator" and "Automate" are undisputed classics in my book, the former taking EBM into exciting orchestral and oceanic territory, the latter a stunning walk down twilight ambient avenues. Andy sez "the new album (no working title yet) will be a timeless electronic experience with a unique feel, style, atmosphere & heavy load of lyrics. No Future-Pop, none whatsoever." Boo-ya. Count another record under the FT banner one of the titles I'm most eagerly anticipating this year.
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Goth drama? On the Internet? Surely you jest! But no! And coming from the band with more "he said/she said/he released my demos in Europe without consent" history than any other: Christian Death. A new outfit, deemed Christian Death 1334 and featuring original "Only Theatre Of Pain" writers Rikk Agnew and James McGearty has been formed and is touring the classic material by "way of honoring our dear friend Rozz Williams and resurrecting the sound which is distinctly Christian Death."

Enter Valor, who retorts with "There is a bogus concert being organised by an unofficial 'TRIBUTE band', featuring the christiandeath name which is not christian death. It is billed as taking place in LA. Be warned that this is not christian death and steps are being taken to ensure that fans will not be ripped off as this is not the start of the long awaited tour."

I'll refrain from pointing out the hilarity inherent in Valor calling any incarnation of Christian Death "bogus" (if all of this is confusing, consult the wikipedia article on the band to catch up on one of the most confusing and bitter intra-band feuds EVR) and merely say that I'd be interested in hearing Christian Death 1334's take on the classic material. I'm not nuts about Eva O, never have been, but Rikk Agnew's a great guitarist and songwriter (peep his "All By Myself" solo record for some classic and classy SoCal punk), and there's no way that Christian Death 1334 can do anything but help restore at least some of the lustre to a legacy that's been tarnished for over twenty years by a bottomfeeder without a shred of dignity.

another failed idiom

Bruce: So, them Internets are abuzz about the impending debut release by Blaqk Audio. Why, might you ask, are media juggernauts like MTV bothering to give virtual ink to what amounts to Just Another Futurepop Album? Because Blaqk Audio is made up of two jabronis from AFI. But before we get into what all this means, let's address the material at hand, thus far consisting of two tracks on the band's MySpace.

Like many tepid electronic projects, Blaqk Audio are trying to claim diverse points of comparison in an attempt to con the listener into mistakenly hearing non-existent depth in their tracks: in this case they've opted for Echo & The Bunnymen as the talking point. Clearly this isn't the case, and anyone who's been paying attention to Futurepop and other club-friendly EBM recently won't hear anything here that hasn't been beaten to death over the past five years. More specifically, the two songs are wildly unbalanced, with elements dropping in and out of the mix seemingly at random, and not in a good way. Basslines vanish without a trace, choruses come and go indistinguishable from the rest of the stale offering. There's no semblance of an ordering principle behind any of this, either. Y'know how buffet restaurants always seemed great in theory when you were younger? Pizza, lasagna and chinese food all at once? But invariably you were disappointed: each of the elements were a pale imitation of what they tasted like at real restaurants, and the combination of all of the hollow simulacra on your plate at the same time just seemed like a cruel joke. So yeah: Blakq Audio are the musical equivalent of Buffet World.

As someone who doesn't really have too much time for straightforward, emotive Futurepop these days, I'm not sure that I'm the best person to be taking a sledgehammer to Blakq Audio's output thus far, but I will say this: even when it's devoid of inspiration or novelty, Futurepop is a craft-based medium. A couple of months ago I was enduring a recent A Different Drum comp, and after a brief period of listening it became readily apparent within a few seconds per song which groups did and didn't have a talent for turning out solid product of this type, whatever you think of it. Assemblage 23 and Seabound have it, Blakq Audio clearly don't. Don't be fooled, this is amateur-hour type stuff. Blakq Audio are jumping on the Futurepop bandwagon years too late with precious little to offer the party but stale Cheetos.

Alex: Would you even call this futurepop really? I mean, as problematic is that term is, I'd say it has more in common with some more recent synthpop offerings, like say Depeche Mode's 'Playing the Angel' than with anything VNV or Apop has done. Of course it should be noted that we're basing all of this on two songs, god knows what the album as a whole will sound like.

Bruce: Fair point (although I'm not sure that I'm comfortable with calling "Playing The Angel" synthpop). I'm wondering if this is yet another recent case in which contact between mainstream rock and the long-suffering standard-bearers of "this thing of ours" results in...something else. I think this paid off in spades for Apop when Mesh redid "Mourn" after years of Groth's sad attempts to rebrand himself as a super-sexy bona-fide Rock Star, whereas the notion of VNV playing for tens of thousands of Radiohead fans this summer is far too little, far too late.

As for the specifics of Futurepop and whether Blakq Audio fits the bill or not, you might be right. That said, I don't need to use the F-word to trash this stuff: it's still painfully derivative and awkward.

Alex: More than anything else, I'm curious to see how this will effect the goth-industrial club scene as a whole. My first thought is that this has the potential to bring a lot of attention and exposure to the music that's been motoring along selling nothing at all. Those of you old enough to remember the early nineties will recall when Green Day's "Dookie" broke big, and suddenly So-Cal Punk was a going concern after years of fermenting in the underground. See also No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom" for the abortive Ska revival and Robert Miles' crossover megahit "Dreams" bringing Trance into the mainstream. With that said, those scenarios usually didn't do much to break other bands or artists in any real way, moreso they just introduced a wide variety of people to music they were otherwise unaware of and a small portion of the people who bought the records became aficionados of the genre. Other possibility is that this goes off like that She Wants Revenge record on a grander scale, wherein it brings no new fans to the genre, but gets mad spins in the club and has people requesting five songs off the album every god damn night.

Incidentally, apparently the one dude who isn't the guy who looks like a bitch claimed in an interview with some guitar magazine that AFI's single "Love Like Winter" was originally written for this project. That song is better than either of the tracks on the Blaqk Audio myspace, I'd be happy to play something along those lines if the full-length album has anything comparable.