Group Rhoda
Phase 5
Dark Entries/Katabatik
The appropriately titled Phase 5 is the fifth record from Mara Barenbaum’s self-described “tropical darkwave” and “soft industrial” project Group Rhoda. The understated sound of much of Barenbaum’s work belies the crafty sound design and unpredictable composition which has guided Group Rhoda’s 15-plus year trajectory, and those elements are given some even more subtle shading in the corners of Phase 5‘s synth sculpturing. While the pulsing “Sunseer” calls back to the more stripped down minimal wave of the Out Of Time, Out Of Touch LP, it’s the exception to the rule here. The rubbery, dubby downtempo of “Dragon Pine” winds its way through murky twilight grottoes. Squint and you can hear some of the influence of Suicide’s second record on synthpop with the tropicalia turned up on “Formless” before the track twists into a shimmering, Musick To Play In The Dark ambience. Recommended to fans of synthesis for its own sake, and well suited to evening reading or solitary cocktail hours.
Nick Viola
Precursor
OMEN Recordings
Nick Viola’s techno is certainly industrial in nature, and the Los Angeles producer’s rhythmic noise work as Fractured Transmission having presaged his current style. Precursor is an especially minimal and textural example of the crossover sound, establishing grooves and then letting atmospheres flow around and through the spaces between each percussion hit. The interplay between the kicks, funky cymbal work and the rumbling, fuzzy bass on “Self Bias” is immediate and crushing, the whirring samples and subtle touches of acid that burble beneath the surface adding to its intrinsic menace. Alternately, the title track goes with a very straight arrangement of kicks and snares, its appeal based in the way its crushed and manipulated samples conform to the relentless march of the drums, melding and morphing into different shapes to avoid getting crushed out of the mix. The EP’s most unnerving moment comes on “Clutch Pad” where a particularly tense synthline emerges from the cacophony, only to grow more and more nerve-wracking as it grows thicker and more discordant, never releasing its grip on the song or the listener until the final moments of the song, practically collapsing under the pressure it created by itself. Like all of Viola’s work, this isn’t geared for anything but the bleakest and most austere dancefloors, and is all the more gripping for it.
