One of the most recent examples of an established noise artist "selling out" (and I mean that sarcastically) and making actual music was a surprising one. Avellan Cross' Elden M is best known for his work as the enigmatic Allegory Chapel Ltd., but has been dipping his toe into the new lo-fi EBM scene. The thing is, he brings enough of his dissonant past with him to make an album that really cannot be easily labeled, but covers enough of both industrial and noise to make it a strong entry in both genres.
Opening song "MTN" is the biggest throwback to ACL's work on here.Made up of deep synth pulses and bass drum programming, it is sequenced so densely and delayed so much that the result has little tangible rhythm or melody to be grasped upon."Actual Reality" is also pretty dissonant, albeit not quite as significantly in comparison.More overt synth arpeggios clash with erratic drum machines, with Elden’s voice whispered and echoed heavily.The sounds used throughout might be a bit more traditional, but the structuring is anything but.
ACL's harsher noise tendencies also flare up on "Strawberry-Blonde GF" in the form of shifting waves of synth noise underscoring a spiky, echoing drum machine backing.Melodic synth passages lurk below these more dissonant moments, and in the absence of vocals, pornographic dialog samples are used instead.While that might sound cliché, it also makes for a fitting tribute to the early artists in the genres Avellan Cross is paying tribute to.
"Luminol" is more indebted to Detroit electro than any of the splinter genres of industrial, on the other hand.Straightforward synth patterns and 4/4 drum programming give it that proto-techno vibe, and the lo-fi vocal production and synth string pads give it a deliciously vintage sound."A+ Energie" works in similar ways, dropping the vocals in favor of dialog samples and emphasizing a sharp, snappy drum program to excellent effect.
Avellan Cross is influenced by the 1980s industrial scene, but it is only on the live "Man on Fire" where the most specific one shines through.Over a din of monotone kick drums and apocalyptic hand claps, his vocals dip into Alan Vega's pseudo-Elvis croon, complete with the vocal tics and outbursts that appeared on so many Suicide songs.It does not at all come across as a rip-off, but instead a fitting tribute to a band who influence is still felt to this day.
Bits and pieces of Technoise might clearly be traced to genres and artists past, but the way Elden M. pieces them together is what makes this release stand out.The unconventional composition combined with the raw production makes it clear that this project is not going for any sort of crossover success, and nor should it.It is a dirty, ugly, and noisy bit of electro, and that is exactly what I loved about it.
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