Review: Peter Murphy – 'Bare-Boned And Sacred'

PETER MURPHY
'Bare-Boned And Sacred'
METROPOLIS RECORDS

Last year's 'Stripped' tour saw the godfather of goth, Peter Murphy (formerly of Bauhaus) take his solo show to a minimalist extreme. Accompanied by only two other musicians (John Andrews on Guitar and Emilio 'Zef' China Bass/Electric Violin) Murphy's approach was a career-encompassing cross-section of hits from his days with Bauhaus up to his last studio effort 'Lion'. The result is a subtle and emotional album full of bewitching melodies and hypnotic rhythms that frame Murphy's distinct voice perfectly.

The album is mixed well with a nice balance between crowd-noise and the performance. There's a little bit of banter mixed into the set but not much. But it still retains the atmosphere of a low-key and intimate performance. Songs such as 'All Night Long', 'Bewlay Brothers', 'A Strange Kind Of Love', the 'Bauhaus Medley', 'Lion' and 'Your Face' in particular are stunning renditions that are met with rapture from the audience.

There is a roughness to the recording. It hasn't been cleaned-up a great amount beyond its mixing and that's great. It's an artifact of the event, a true representation of the atmosphere, sound and feeling the performance conveyed at that time and the album replicates that perfectly.

Many people have mixed feelings about live albums. But this is one of those rare occasions where the performance justified it's recording. The “warts and all” live feeling, the intimacy of the sound, the world-weary crackle to Murphy's distinctive vocal style all and the subtlety of Andrews and China's accompaniment make this an enticing listening experience.

It may not have much appeal outside the circle of Bauhaus/Peter Murphy fans, but those fans will be able to walk away satisfied with this album. It does something a little different and adds a new twist to some familiar songs and for that reason alone it is worth a listen.  

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Introducing... Cruel Wonders

Name of band: Cruel Wonders
Members: Vlad Shusterman and Tamar Singer

Year formed: 2012

Location: Tel Aviv/Jerusalem, Israel

“Our visual aesthetic is very much in vein with the Art Noveau and Victorian decadence. We're both film school graduates, so visuals are an important part of our project.”

Four years in making and having shared stage with such heavyweights as ROME and Spiritual Front, Cruel Wonders' debut sets classical poetry (ranging from Shakespeare to Russian Symbolists) to sparse, doom-laden neofolk for the post-metal age. The duo's sound is rooted in Singer's haunting vocals and hearty strumming, while Shusterman's mesmerized riffs and cavernous electronics evoke equal parts darkwave lull and doom metal menace.

Intravenous Magazine: Who are you and how did the band/project come to be formed?

We are Vlad Shusterman and Tamar Singer, longtime friends who just started jamming one day with a couple of guitars and some tomes of poetry for ready-made lyrics. Vlad is a quite known producer actually (his post-rock/electronica project Ghost Bike is signed to n5MD and been making waves since 2010), while Tamar is a professional filmmaker (Cannes festival nominee), a musical latebloomer who started playing and singing at the age of 30. So, we came up with a few memorable songs and decided to make a record.

IVM: How would you describe your sound/style, and how did you arrive at it?

Female-fronted neofolk with a healthy dose of doom and darkwave influence. In a tag - folk noir, probably. Our music is definitely guitar-based, but we try to spice things up with cinematic percussion, processed samples, various noises - whatever works for the atmosphere.

IVM: Who and what are your primary influences both musical and non-musical?

We're both huge fans of left-of-field metal and dark folk, obviously. Tamar is into lots of acoustic and proggy stuff, Vlad is big on ambient, drone and industrial. Our visual aesthetic is very much in vein with the Art Noveau and Victorian decadence. We're both film school graduates, so visuals are an important part of our project.

IVM: Do you perform live and if so where can we see you perform in the near future?

Our live performances are quite rare, since there is regrettably not much interest for dark folk here in Israel. We're still somewhat of a household name in the genre, locally, so when big name acts from abroad come to play here we're usually called upon as the opening act.

IVM: What is your current release and where is it available from?

We are releasing our debut album Gentle Doom (named after a line from a Shakespeare sonnet) on the 10th of March through Bandcamp. There are nine songs with lyrics by classical poets, book-ended by two ambient interludes. It can be streamed and pre-ordered on a pay-what-you-want basis at cruelwonders.bandcamp.com/releases.

IVM: What have been the highlights of your career so far?

Opening for ROME and Spiritual Front, two famed acts we deeply admire.

IVM: What are your plans fro the future?

Making another record we're proud of, hopefully.

IVM: Finally, is there anything that you would like to add?

Just that we've been enjoying your zine. Keep up the great work!

Links:

http://cruelwonders.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/pg/CruelWonders

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Review: MiXE1 – 'Don't Break Apart'

MIXE1
'Don't Break Apart'
SELF-RELEASED

It's been a while since we last heard from electro-rockers MiXE1. Their last outing was the very promising 'Starlit Skin' in 2014 which showed off the band's sound augmented by the newly included guitars and live drums. The end result is a punk-infused electro-rock, full of big choruses and dance friendly-melodies, but with enough room for additional experimentation. Three years on Mike Evans and co. return with their latest single 'Don't Break Apart'.

The new single already shows a significant step-forward from the last album with a more polished presentation that reveals a big emotionally-charged electro rock anthem that packs a very powerful kick. The slow and synth-led beginning erupts into a sing-a-long chorus boosted by the power of the guitars and drums that continue to push the song forward, temporarily finding room for a big breakdown, before kicking it up a notch for the close of the song.

The title track is followed by b-side, 'Meteor', which kicks off with a nice dirty guitar riff right off the bat before going into a hard and heavy assault reminiscent of early Orgy, Static-X, Powerman 5000, and Mad Capsule Markets held together by Evans emotional pop vocal projection.

The single is rounded off by a dark and claustrophobic remix courtesy of Ruinizer that elevates the original track into a more desperate and industrial flavoured cut.

As mentioned earlier the production has come on a lot. Evans has always been ambitious but this single shows that he is now hitting his stride in both song-writing and execution. The synths have the power of big dance hits alone, and when coupled with the vocals, guitars and drums, the end result is almost cinematic in atmosphere.

This is a very strong single that shows a band reaching their potential having taken the time to commit and work hard on their sound. The single indicates the next full-length from the band will definitely be one to watch out for. But in the meantime there is plenty here to whet a few appetites.  

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Review: La Breiche – 'Le Mal Des Ardents'

LA BREICHE
'Le Mal Des Ardents'
COLD SPRING RECORDS
La Breiche (The Witch), AKA Arexis and Lafforgue of Stille Volk, mark their first full-length studio offering under the moniker with 'Le Mal Des Ardents' (Holy Fire). The album takes the duo's now familiar obsession with paganism and the occult and marries it with traditional and self-made instruments to a minimalist dark ambient construction. The end result is a dark and contemplative album full of ominous atmospheres.

Tracks such as 'Le Mal Des Ardents', 'La Nef Des Fous', 'Enfers', and 'L’Antre Du Pesteux' are dark winding sonic journeys that move through tribal rhythms, droning chants, and ancient instrumentation to evoke concepts of fear and reason, mythology, and light and dark. The album is a richly layered and expansive piece that evokes images of sprawling wilderness humming with ceremonial processions under cold unforgiving stars.

Production-wise the album walks a fine line between expansive open atmospheres and cold claustrophobic ones as if moving through a landscape of forest, caves and rolling hills. It is dark, but incredibly cinematic in its scope that it begs for intimate and contemplative listening.

This is a very strong album blending a lot of different elements by two already very accomplished musicians. The end result is a breathtakingly haunting picture painted with music. Fans of neofolk, dark ambient, traditional music and even the progressive end of the black metal spectrum should find enjoyment in this album. Hopefully there will be a lot more to come from this project in the future.  

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Review: Sex Death Religion – 'This House Is Haunted'

SEX DEATH RELIGION
'This House Is Haunted'
TWO GODS RECORDS

Horror-obsessed edm / ebm outfit Sex Death Religion return with their latest EP on Two Gods Records. Continuing to hone their psychedelic dance music influenced by the likes of Lords Of Acid, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, and EMF, 'This House Is Haunted' sees the Canadian act take things up a notch with six new tracks of demented dance fodder.

The 'Intro' that kicks the EP off is a great blend of near witch house electronics framing a sinister vocal sample that gets things off to an ominous start. The main body of tracks though do a 180 turn instantaneously with the bouncy wubbing style of edm creating a fun counterpoint to the continued use of horror samples. Tracks such as 'Terror In The House', 'Cannibals', and 'Hell Bound' in particular really exemplify the continuing development of the SDR style balancing out sheer craziness with actual dance credibility.

The only real low point is in the somewhat lacklustre cover of 'Sweet Dreams'. While technically a different take on the oft-covered original, it doesn't have the hooks of the previous songs and the vocal delivery sounds unsure.

This is a nice development from the 'Murder Motel' single last year, and while there are some genuinely fun tracks, there is still some work to be done. However, SDR's own unique style is definitely taking on it's own shape and it would be interesting to see where a full-length album would take them musically and conceptually as well.  

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Review: Zos Kia / Coil – 'Transparent'

ZOS KIA / COIL
'Transparent'
COLD SPRING RECORDS

Formed by John Gosling (Mekon), John Balance (Coil) and Min – with guest Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson (Throbbing Gristle) – Zos Kia may have been somewhat overshadowed by the later projects of it's chief creators but it remains an important stop on the road of industrial music's development. The sole album produced by the group, and credited with Coil, 'Transparent' has been a rarity since it's original release on the now defunct Nekrophile label. It saw a brief return as a limited edition through Threshold House, but is now finally getting a proper remastered release thanks to Cold Spring.

The music on 'Transparent' is ugly, confrontational and dark industrial. Performance orientated and primal it shows a bridging of the gap between the the example set by Throbbing Gristle and the later polished experimentation of Coil. Rhythmic mechanical noises, tape manipulation, and subdued spoken word leading into haunting shrieks.

Tracks such as 'Sicktone', 'Baptism Of Fire', 'Poisons', 'Sewn Open', 'On Balance', and the live version of 'Rape' in particular show the early processes of these artists who would become legends of electronic and avant garde music in the next couple of decades.

This is a very welcome reissue and despite the rouhg and very low-fi nature of the original recordings they have been given a loving overhaul ready for this release. They are still harsh and gritty as that is their nature, but they are certainly listenable.

This may not be many people's cup of tea, but for fans of Coil, Psychic TV and Throbbing Gristle – in particular in all of their early forms – or just a general appreciation of the early years of industrial music, then this release will be a fine addition to any collection.  

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Review: Attrition – 'A Girl Called Harmony'

ATTRITION
'A Girl Called Harmony'
TWO GODS RECORDS

Already a highly regarded song within the Attrition back catalogue, 'A Girl Called Harmony', which was originally part of 1991'a 'Tricky Business' album sees a release in it's own right on this EP. Although it saw inclusion on a lot of compilations at the time it never made it to a single release but 25 years later Martine Bowes' own Two Gods Records label finally addresses this oversight.

The resulting EP see's the original baroque-infused darkwave meets industrial track joined by the four-track demo track from the previous year. In addition are two remixes of 'I Am Eternity' (one classical and one electronica) from a promotional giveaway on Projekt records in 1997 which compliment the title track very nicely with their respective use of warm strings and trip-hop flavours. The EP is rounded out with a 1986 demo of 'I Am' which adds a nice ambient atmosphere to close with.

The tracks have been remastered with the care and precision that you would come to expect from Bowes. His stock as a producer and engineer is without question especially when taking tracks from across a ten year period and bringing them up to scratch for release in 2017 and have them still sound as strong as they do.

This is a nice addition for any long-time Attrition fan with a strong song leading the charge as well as four enjoyable rarities to boot. It might not be a good starting point for newer fans, but for anyone that has previously thought “He should have released that as a single” now would be the perfect time to grab yourself a copy.  

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Introducing... HR_Lexy

Name of band: HR_Lexy

Members: Arlene Sparacia, John Ferrante, Justin Verted

Year formed: 2015

Location: Nashville, USA

HR_Lexy is a female fronted, electronic trio based in Nashville, TN. The group's sound has been described as haunting electronic pop, with synth soundscapes, driving drum beats, and ethereal, dream-like vocals.
HR_Lexy lyrically explores the pull between dark and light, humanity's relationship with nature, and spiritual awareness. Their live show includes symbolism and theatrical elements that further emphasize these themes.
HR_Lexy recently released their second EP entitled Slaves to the Light in Oct 2016. The band's debut EP Nature Vs Neon was released in 2015.

Intravenous Magazine: Who are you and how did the band come to be formed?

Arlene and John met through Craigslist ad. We played shows as a duo and released our first EP, Nature Vs. Neon. Justin and Arlene met at a mutual job at Whole Foods. Justin came to our shows and expressed interest in being a part of the group. We are happy to have him onboard.

IVM: How would you describe your sound/style, and how did you arrive at it?

Our sound has and continues to develop over time. We actually began with guitars as our main instruments. That quickly morphed into simple synth based music, which then led us to our more complex soundscape sound now. And we are still evolving, with the additional of Justin. The constant is Arlene’s ethereal vocal style and a strong musical platform to support that.

IVM: Who and what are your primary influences both musical and non-musical?

Arlene: Kate Bush, Kim Gordon(sonic youth), Frida Kahlo, Patti Smith, Austra, Angel Olsen, Future Islands, The Jag

John: Being outside in nature, a good synth sound, Sinead O’Conner, Depeche Mode, The Cure, stocism, minimalism.

Justin: Pattern recognition, fractal geometry, Sigur Ros, food forestry, the expansive state of being.

IVM: Do you perform live, and if so, when can we see you perform in the near future?

Yes we perform often. Our show dates can be seen at our website.

IVM: What is your current release, and where is it available?

Our current EP is titled Slaves to the Light. That and our first release are available as digital downloads from hrlexy.com, iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon MP3 and other digital music stores. We are also on Spotify and Youtube.

IVM: What have been the highlights of your career so far?

It really all has been a highlight. We have had such great experiences, releasing two EPs, several videos, performing at all the great clubs in Nashville, radio interviews, interviews such as this. All highlights. We really enjoy performing live, seeing our stage show develop has been much fun.

IVM: What are your plans for the future?

We are currently writing and rehearsing new material, which we plan to release soon. Expect new videos to as well. More live shows and touring.

IVM: Finally, is there anything that you would like to add?

Thank you everyone for listening!

Links:

Official Site:http://www.hrlexy.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hr_lexy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hrlexy/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCYPV9M7WKK_eRvTYiz1l_A

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Review: Contaminated Intelligence – 'Mental Fractures'

CONTAMINATED INTELLIGENCE
'Mental Fractures'
TWO GODS RECORDS

Utah's Contaminated Intelligence revisit their 2014 EP 'Mental Fractures' and augment the original record with five new bonus tracks, stretching it into a full-length album in it's own right. The original was self-released by the band in 2014 after main man Jourdan Turner suffered a snowboarding accident. The release in it's current form now follows his recovery from that time until now, and in the process pushes their experiments with Drum n Bass, Down-tempo Break Beats, and Ambient atmospheres to the fore.

The result is a very experimental but danceable album which while not wholly at odds with the industrial-punk flavour of their last release, 'Status Control', is certainly less vitriolic and more introspective in it's instrumental wanderings. Yet songs such as 'CRUNCH!', 'Recovery', and 'Recovery Pt 2.' from the original tracklist maintain a decisive dancefloor appeal. While the newer contributions such as 'Unscrewed (Removed)', 'Coming Back', and 'Anesthetic Dreams' reflect the band's newer style while maintaining the elements of the original that made it an interesting listening experience.

Production-wise it definitely sounds like a record of two halves. The more crisp modern flavour of the original five versus the grimier sounds of the newest contributions. But it strangely works well when you think of it as side a and side b.

This was an interesting move to revisit an earlier work in this kind of way. But the original EP was worth re-highlighting and the new songs are just as valid as anything included on last year's full-length album release, so why not? The result is a very interesting album that cover's the entirety of the band's sonic experimentation over the past few years. A risky idea but incredibly well-executed and will certainly be on that pays off for them.  

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Review: Fearpassage – 'Love, Hate & Devotion'

FEARPASSAGE
'Love, Hate & Devotion'
TWO GODS RECORDS

Florida-based industrial musician returns with his third full-length album under the Fearpassage moniker in the form of 'Love, Hate & Devotion' five years after the last LP 'Our Children'. The time has been used wisely though with the new album seeing a significant step forward in terms of the quality of the songwriting and performances.

The album doesn't deviate too much from the classic electro industrial formula of steady dance beats meets melodic synths and harsh vocals. But it is a formula that serves them well and arguably has finally coalesced into what can be described as their own sound. Where their first album was somewhat half-realised, and their sophomore effort was more about finding their feet, album number three definitley feels like the project has come into it's own.

Songs such as 'Love, Hate & Devotion', 'Vicious Sin', 'Between Us', and 'Feelings You Hide' have great classic ebm elements that give them strong dancefloor potential, while the likes of 'Drowning', 'Left Behind', and 'Venom' get nice and dark to really draw the listener in.

Production-wise there are still some parts that feel a little more low-fi than they need to be, especially on the vocals that do seem to become a little swamped now and then. But on the whole it balances the aggressive, dark electronics with more melodic and progressive elements really well.

'Love, Hate & Devotion' is a big step forward for Fearpassage. The album has plenty of depth while keeping it's sonic pallet relatively straightforward. The result is the strongest album Fear has released thus far and one that continues to show off the potential of the project moving forward. Hopefully we won't have to wait as long next time for a follow-up.  

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