Displaying synaptic rhythms, surreal ambiences with a shadow of mystery, Fashion Victim rolls over the ears as a smooth if not essential album for 2003.
Meant to be an album that displays frustration with fashion and superficiality, Larvae’s debut full-length (following the recent Monster Music EP), breathes life into a rather decayed form of electronics. Displaying synaptic rhythms, surreal ambiences with a shadow of mystery, Fashion Victim rolls over the ears as a smooth if not essential album for 2003. Blending genres such as rugged hip-hop (“Tonystark” + “Refuse”) next to distorted melodies (“Crazyeye”), Larvae packs an impeccable punch in each composition leaving you stranded in an altered dimension. Tracks like “Unbranded” and “I Owe You” are rendered into the shape of drum’n bass with basslines that ripple across the spectrum like a swarm of killer bees chasing you in a dark and abandoned alley. Not forgetting the ambient nature of tracks like “Philistine” and “Kelvin (Genetic Mix),” Larvae incorporates derailed, stretched melodies next to a subtle backdrop of crisp percussion as it fades into the distance. “Redline Version,” perhaps one of the most intriguing tracks on Fashion Victim takes an energetic beat and ties it next to corrupted tweaks, bleeps and strange audio manipulations until it unfolds its collage of tricky noise upon the listener. Going beyond traditional classifications, Larvae has sculpted a 10-track album of infectious and rigorous sound-escapes that bends and twists throughout the 46-minutes of its existence; A satisfying listening experience that grabs the ears and shakes the feet.
Fashion Victim is available on Ad Noiseam.
