Label
Chondritic Sound
CH-306
- When Pure Ground first emerged from Los Angeles' flourishing industrial scene, the duo's sound was unapologetically raw and rudimentary. The Daylight and Protection EPs mostly fell into one of two categories: swiftly bopping minimal wave jams or second-gear grinders that tore open the gates of hell. Both cassettes are fantastic precisely because they capture a new project—one with seemingly inexhaustible reserves of enthusiasm and energy—maximizing its limited skill set. This is, after all, the very essence of the DIY sensibility.
But the Pure Ground heard on Standard Of Living, the first proper full-length from the duo of Greh Holger (AKA Hive Mind) and Jesse Short (of Brotman & Short), isn't that same band. This incarnation remains rooted in the DIY impulse (the music continues to be recorded to a four-track), and yet is more sophisticated. The cause for this striking leap in development might be related to a recent string of dates across Europe—touring can no doubt be a catalyst for evolution.
One of the album's most thrilling tracks, "The Glory Of Absence" is a fully realized blend of EBM and power electronics. Featuring severely garbled robo-vox (courtesy of Holger) and percussion so shrill it pains the ears, the music is three-plus minutes of tense alienation with zero catharsis. "Tides," another expertly constructed cut, is a wall-of-sound dungeon dirge with three to four layers of scorching synth-static, over which Short's booming basso profondo wallows in existential dread. The entire thing from beginning to end is wildly claustrophobic and over the top.
Pure Ground have developed an array of stylishly layered rhythm schemes that inch them closer to the dance floor, albeit a dance floor smothered in black leather and Demonia boots. "Poison," "Centuries In Gold" and "Watch The Lines Grow"—all boasting a unique matrix of programmed syncopation, ethereal chords, looped samples and anxious synth runs—belie the producers' intimacy with the Belgian school of industrial dance (i.e. A Split-Second, early Front 242 and especially The Klinik, whose 1985 album Sabotage is an under-appreciated gem). These tracks in particular draw Pure Ground closer to their friends in Youth Code, another LA duo that worships old-school EBM. That said, Standard Of Living is the product of a band that has honed a truly distinctive and modern voice.
Tracklist01. Second Skin
02. Watch The Lines Grow
03. War In Every House
04. In Silence
05. L'Image
06. Poison
07. The Glory Of Absense
08. Centuries In Gold
09. Tides