An entire summer passed without me publishing a single album review forBrainwashed, or any other site for that matter. Compact discs andpress releases arrived via post regularly, typically finding a home inpiles at the far end of my desk, next to a dust-collecting drummachine. Call it a lack of motivation, call it laziness, yet, on this unseasonably warm autumnnight, I have returned. It took thebest album of 2005 to accomplish that.
Planet Mu
Merciless and astounding, Degenerate is a shock to theproverbial system, a savage hate crime against the softened eardrums ofwimpy dance rock hipsters and trendy techno fashionistas. The duobehind Vex'd conjure up an unflinching and bleak industrial vision ofelectronic music, the likes of which havent been seen since Scorn's Greetings from Birmingham.The solitary opening bleeps of "Pop Pop V.I.P." resurrect the elatedtones of Sweet Exorcist's pathbreaking classic "Testone" beforeerupting into a grisly cacophony of neck-snapping snares andstomach-churning rumbles. "Thunder" slashes the tempo right in half,leaving only an eviscerated aural carcass. The twisted uptempo rhythmsreturn on "Angels," a sub-bass monster specked with a particularlyghastly film sample. This dancefloor-accessible style of low-endworship dominates the album, from the dubby inflections of "Venus" and"Fire" to the unstoppable breakbeat monoliths of "Gunman" and "LionV.I.P." A notable deviation from this effective formula comes on "Cold"with its distant strings and gurgling, groaning synthy squelches,presenting an atmospheric, more pensive and, atypically, beatlessversion of the now undeniable Vex'd sound. As if an entire album ofsuch power weren't enough, Planet Mu thankfully includes a second discof bonus tracks culled largely from previously released 12" records.The original version of "Lion," a highlight among this shorter set,digs a distorted bleepy melody out of the crates that might tantalizeformer ravers longing for the sounds of forgotten warehouse parties.
To approach Degenerate as the product or even arelative of the U.K. dubstep/sublow/grime scenes would do it an immenseinjustice, as Vex'd truly have compiled a peerless document that speaksto our grim, chaotic, blood-drenched world without hardly saying aword.
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