A baffling collection of mechanically rhythmic fissures that split open just as quickly as they collapse.
Mechanically rhythmic fissures
High on our radar for several years, Concrete Collage maintains an edge on growing their artist roster and is a go-to imprint (based in Lyon, France) for left-field electronic music and its sonic tangents. French for ‘superior strength‘ Force Majeure (aka London, UK artist also known as Nick Ronin—Obese and members of Killdren) presents his eponymous debut and it’s a densely packed 6-track that feels more like a tightened full album.
Take the highlight of the lot, at least for these ears, “Slices Along the Coronal Plane.” Crunchy industrial mechanics and shape-shifting musical artillery exude just enough groove while buried deep within a hardened outer concrete shell. The sonic destruction featured on these pieces shatter and break apart—have a listen to opener and aptly-titled “Seismic Plates” as it crumples and collides with synthesized sound-scraping noises. The tectonic sheets continue to create massive amounts of energy as “Continuum Tearing” provides ample punch-press echoes and darkness while “Open Wounds on Terra Firma” solidifies the industrial wastelands Force Majeure crafts so perfectly. Not forgetting the claustrophobic shearing that emanates from “Palpitations” to the deepest oceanic trench on the planet (and closing piece) “Mariana Trench,” this release is a baffling collection of mechanically rhythmic fissures that split open just as quickly as they collapse.
Force Majeure is available on Concrete Collage April 13, 2022. [Bandcamp]
