My initial overall impression of Welcome To The End Game is that this is a very worthy follow up to earlier releases. We are greeted with all of the hallmarks of RoW including their fractured beats, evocative and emotional synth lines…
Digital, analog and modular elements all at play
Room of Wires return with their third full length album Welcome To The End Game, which follows on from their lock-down produced Plague of People, also released on respected experimental label Ant-Zen.
If my memory serves me then I referred to their sound in previous reviews as IIDM (Double I DM) or Industrial Intelligent Dance Music. I still like this description, despite not feeling that labelling music is necessary, more just a sign-post on the road to help people find their way towards interesting destinations. Their music fits well with Ant-Zen who have released this latest album, but they also appear on other labels including the ever interesting Rednetic, and Section 27. The Andrews, of which there are two, continue to work in their chosen method of isolation from each other, and still have not met to this day. I found this of particular interest and topical at the time in 2022 when I reached out to the two Andrews to gain an understanding of their approach and try to put some substance behind the mists of RoW. The article is here for those interested, and in a weird way I think I’ll always associate RoW with the Covid times.
My initial overall impression of Welcome To The End Game is that this is a very worthy follow up to earlier releases. We are greeted with all of the hallmarks of RoW including their fractured beats, evocative and emotional synth lines, making us wonder how these producers can create such cohesive results from totally different places, using totally different approaches. Assuming things have not changed so much Andrew T is the digital approach guy, whilst Andrew W (Wires?) is the one literally drowning in a room full of wires. There are lots of great tracks presented here, the quality is constant, without any dip for fillers. Effective use of digital, analog and modular elements all at play here.
Some tracks of note that hit you on first listen include: “Oceans Light,” which has one of those ever rising and soaring synth string walls, elevating one to higher plains of audible ecstasy. Warbling electronics, sometimes indistinct samples marry up with IIDM drum sounds building to a sort of transcendental mind state. The opener which is the album title track grabs one immediately with those classic industrial styled bass lines and higher synth riffs, reminiscent of older Front Line Assembly styled arrangements. As you listen to more of the album it becomes apparent very quickly that this is not simple paint by numbers stuff, it shows a growing maturity in sound design arrangements. Ant-Zen have another great artist on their roster here, with the only unusual thing being there’s been no live aspect to bring their music to venues with bigger sound systems. I’d love to see RoW live at one of the great Industrial festivals in Germany or somewhere similar where their music would have another chance to live in a new live environment.
The Andrews have pulled off another great heist ::
Back to the album! The Andrews have pulled off another great heist. Bagging a plethora of different compositions that make for a coherent album for extended listening pleasure. Amongst the many tracks we find lots of different vibes and sonic nods to past tracks and artists, with lots of nicely placed voice samples with applied filtering effects to position them into different places in the mix. The track “Buried” has a video which can be viewed on YouTube. It is a moody track with synths that sound like vocals, pounding bass and drums, nothing 4/4 to the floor, but more industrial with booms, clanks, and percussive sounds one might hear within the world of Aphex Twin. “Liquidation” brings in some filtered piano lines, with wonderful sampled voices to create an atmospheric landscape, which feels like it would not be out of place in an abstract movie or eerie game cut scene. It would have fit well into an episode of level of The Last Of US! I’m at times reminded of the album Meanwhile by The Empath from 2010 which was released on Ant-Zen’s sister imprint Hymen, which is a strong reference point for me as one of my favorite albums of that year. WTTEG has some quieter and more subdued moments like “Ripped Out,” a slow and piano laden track with interrupted bass booms and a military sounding snare. “Clickshape” bridges the more laid back tracks with rumbling bass and drums. “Night Listens” completes the release, a suitably introspective shorter track that is like the summary of the complete release mood wise, with watery effects, vocal samples, elemental strings and reserved rhythms.
Overall a thoroughly exciting ride, one that you will want to listen to more and more, each time more elements revealing themselves. I don’t listen to music on headphones very much these days, but this is definitely one of those albums that lends itself to listening on headphones in a dark room, reclining into the sonic world of RoW. This album definitely falls into one of my favorites for 2023 so far.
Welcome To The End Game is available on Ant-Zen. [Bandcamp]
