Slighter, “In Ruins”

In Ruins is the culmination of the path Colin Cameron’s Slighter has been on since the release of 2017’s ERODE, the album that crystalized the project’s mixture of cinematic sound design, dubby textures and massive, booming percussion. Where each successive album has cinched that combination of sounds more tightly together, there’s a specific tension at the heart of this LP’s tracks that is both invigorating and unnerving, as the deep well of antipathy and righteous anger that has surfaced at various points in Slighter’s history is made fully, viscerally apparent.

Which is not to say that this is a record of unbridled rage and chaotic tempos. Cameron’s meticulous production, and low, menacing presence are still the order of the day, it’s just that those qualities seem far more pointed than at any point in recent history. That means that for every groovy breaks and acid workout like the propulsive “Worms”, you get a number like “Disruption Principle”, where Cameron’s measured, half-whispered vocal delivery seethes its way towards an eruption of percussion and twisting synthlines, or a cut like “State of Rage” where the blasts of articulated drums and bass are punctuated by vast expanses of emptiness to further amplify the shock and awe of their impact.

Indeed, the record’s weaponized discontent makes its way into even its most placid moments, turning what might otherwise read as ambient or textural exercises into screeds in their own their rite. The record’s title track sounds laid back compared to the fast moving callout of “Edgeboi” (a cut that features an acidic kiss-off from guest vocalist and programmer Fatigue), but the restlessness with which Cameron pushes against the tempo of the song gives it a particular sense of pique that doesn’t need force to make an impression. And while “Stories to Tell”, a vocal showcase for frequent collaborator Craig Joseph Huxtable (Ohmelectronic, Landscape Body Machine) strips Slighter’s aesthetics down to the studs leaving only a minimal arrangement of drums and synths, the way in which the song gains speed and carriage is palpable and gripping.

A quick listen to “Fvck Evrthng” should give an idea of the broader social and political context that has Slighter sounding so antagonistic on In Ruins, especially where the ghostly ambience of follow-up “The Shimmer” closes the album in less than cathartic fashion, suggesting a storm still to come rather than one that has already passed. The record’s main appeal is in how it can express ill will so clearly without needing to beat you over the head with it, more sharped edge than bludgeon.

Buy it.