Sunday, April 29, 2018

Full Length Review: NEON INSECT Glitches (Independent) by Dave Wolff

Glitches
Independent
Place of origin: Berlin, Germany
Genre: Experimental electro-industrial
Release date: February 16, 2018
Glitches is the fifth official release from Neon Insect since 2017, and the second released as a full length. Despite my limited experience with full on electro-industrial I have a feeling this project offers more than most others of this genre. Germany has consistently spawned original and memorable industrial such as KMFDM, Die Krupps, Atari Teenage Riot and Rammstein to name a handful. As influential as those bands were, Neon Insect strives to transcend what they have done, heading into new theatrical heights with greater similarity to movie soundtracks. The eight tracks by Nils Sinatsch sound as if they were composed to enhance the mood of futuristic noir movies; Dark City, The Thirteenth Floor and the time tested Blade Runner. As a conceptual album, Glitches takes darker turns and draw comparisons to contemporary issues. Thoughtcrimes with its imposing vocals, spoken word samples, synthesizers and organic drums is directly inspired by Orwell’s antiutopian novel 1984, warning that free speech and expression are not to be taken for granted. The full length progresses from there with each piece being designed to speak to a different part of the listener’s psyche, exploring everything to industrial metal to synthpop to hip hop in one of the tracks (To The Moon And Back) and a myriad of new and untested sounds brought in. To The Moon And Back is among my favorites as the electro/rap crossover is not compulsory or preachy about diversifying. Rather it builds on the resources Sinatsch has at his disposal, shaping its influences into more of a cohesive body. The track has more in common with Celtic Frost’s experimentation with hip hop in One In Their Pride and One In Their Pride (Porthole Mix). Grey Hat does something similar, though in this track the theme is darker and more ambient and leans toward horror, without any vocals. Those songs, both versions of the track Sneaky and even the songs relying on repetition (LLTQ, IDC) leave it to the listener’s imagination to decide what the movie is. Glitches is compiled from the work of many session musicians who pooled their resources with Sinatsch; you can see a full list at the official Bandcamp link of this recording. -Dave Wolff

Lineup:
Nils Sinatsch: Composer
Various instrumentalists and musicians

Track list:
1. Thoughtcrimes
2. LLTQ (f. Leaether Strip)
3. Sneaky
4. The Council (Enlia Remix)
5. To The Moon And Back (f. Twill Distilled)
6. Grey Hat
7. IDC
8. Sneaky (Ambient)


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