Daast
Abyssal Highway
self-released
Manchester’s Daast hasn’t ever been easy listening, but even in comparison to their previous releases, new EP Abyssal Highway sounds gnarly. While there’s still snatches of techno-industrial in the mix, especially in the rolling rhythm underneath the title cut, the whole affair has been drenched in grit and saturated noise, delving deep into to death industrial territory. Its a sound that suits the project, which still manages to work some dark melodics into the fibres of the screeching death march of “Witch Thighs”, the brief moments of reprieve heralded by its pads quickly subsumed by waves of feedback and relentless, ugly percussion. Still, while it’s unlikely to light up the dancefloor of your local dance haven, there’s no denying how important those rhythms are to the Daast sound; closing cut “Unknown Regolith” strips far back to just its drums and some big drones halfway through, a switch to relative minimalism so effective to the point that even the addition of a slightly more fuzzed out layer of distortion to the snare becomes car crash impactful. It’s an EP of truly glorious, ugly sounds, unabashed, unyielding, and ever moving forward.
Prophän
Ana Lemlhi F Dnoubi (أنا الملهي فذنوبي)
Antibody
Moroccan producer Othman Cherradi’s move to Paris provided the thematic inspiration for new EP Ana Lemlhi F Dnoubi (أنا الملهي فذنوبي) but you don’t need to have that context or the ability to parse its Arabic lyrics to feel the restless, haunted mood which is woven through its combination of industrial beats, folk instrumentation, and downtempo by way of dark ambient production. There’s a classic blast furnace texture to opener “Habss Ezzaj” which should appeal to vintage Cold Meat Industry listeners, and on a more contemporary tip “Ana Lmalhi F Dnoubi” recalls Snakes Of Russia in how it gives its metallic strikes space to echo, and how it ameliorates their tactility with smokey ambiance. But when it eschews drum programming for the sake of more ambient pieces, Prophän loses none of his presence or menace. The funereal beauty of “Katssali Bhal Hakka”, which sets wistful vocals to organs and pads, carries the sound of much late era Coil towards a muted, inner, frailty.
