Purgate
Leavings
Aesthetical
The last time we heard from Purgate, the one-man project of Cyclic Law head honcho Frédéric Arbour, its original dark techno dimension had begun to be ameliorated by a fair amount of ambient. That shift continues even further on new LP Leavings, which splits its time between moody soundscapes and percussive loops which eschew even the most outre of techno dancefloors for hypnotic minimalism and timbral colour. On “Fragments” and “Loess” loops of acid-flecked, rumbling metallic feedback circle back in upon themselves with nary any drum programming or other familiar elements with which to interact; the effect is as if the loose pulse of a techno track was repeatedly sampled at a distance and compressed, leaving the patina of a familiar mode of dance music divorced from its beat or structure. Pieces like “Ashes” and “Burst”, in comparison, occupy a more readily identifiable percussive dimension, but avoid commonplace rhythms or even stable beats as they wax and wane; a simple rhythm being thumbed out on a hand drum (or the distorted ritual industrial equivalent thereof) is a far closer comparison than any current TBM kick. Whether you want to view a record like Leavings as the logical endpoint of a hyper-austere filleting of techno or experimentation in sound design for its own sake, it’s a record far more suited to nightime reading than clubbing.
Chalice Sect
Finis Initii
self-released
Los Angeles trio Chalice Sect sit nicely between a few popular sounds on their first EP Finis Innitii. One the one hand, they have big, modern synth hooks, as evidenced by lead-off track “Fire in the Sound”, which has a nice high-def production sensibility. That said the track is also propelled by very rock-styled drums, a growling vocal and hinges on its goth-rock anthem chorus. It’s not that far off from what some acts like Priest have been doing, but with a bit more grit and dirt behind it, to its benefit. “Silent Fever” leans in harder on those big rock sounds, with its twangy guitars and fast-moving backbeat, although it does take the time for a synthwave breakdown in its final third. “Take Me There Parts I & II” literally splits the difference in sounds, with the first half a speedy bit of dancefloor electro, and the second a full on trad-goth rock number, before resolving again during its climax. “Undefined” is perhaps the smoothest blend of Chalice Sect’s two main musical motifs; the song is positively drowning in synth arps, guitar licks, simple kick snare patterns that get spiced up with butt-rock tom fills and splashy cymbals, and a blazing solo for good measure. Like the rest of the EP, it feels appropriately grandiose and ready for the dancefloor, not a bad place for numbers like this to be aimed.
