A recent article written by Philip Sherburne pointed out how techno's role in the political landscape can be to raise awareness and broach topics with titles, art, liner notes and themes, in lieu of addressing them in lyrics. It's a modus operandi Perc has flirted with for some time, which gave last year's excellent The Power And The Glory some especially savage gusto. But despite its strong political overtones, Gob has no explicit message it wants to get across or issue it wants to touch on. Perc's latest record is rather an expression of discontent (the back panel's desaturated image of his face flat in a bowl of porridge just about says it all), or perhaps an attempt to foster further unrest. All three productions here certainly reflect those attitudes—from the title track's violent industrial kicks to the angry chatter haunting "Change To Win," Gob wants to raise hell.
That isn't to say Ali Wells uses politics as an aesthetic; social struggle is simply his muse, and it makes for robust dance music. With the subtlety of an air raid, "Gruel" unleashes rhythmic shrapnel and saw-blade screeches into its ruthless 4/4, landing somewhere between dark gabber and steely noise-techno. "Gob" churns along at the same menacing 130 BPM, with intermittent pauses made for garbled voice transmissions to feed the cacophony. Both tracks have their unique differences, but it'd be hard to make them out while blaring from the soundsystem in a dank warehouse.
Wells wraps up his EP with a less club-friendly production, and the brutalized noisescape turns out to be its most interesting—and possibly most thematic—track. It's practically impossible to make out what is being said in "Change To Win," as the voices are shrouded in effects and overwhelmed by static, but a sense of indignation and anxiety remains palpable. You could say the same of Gob as a whole.
That isn't to say Ali Wells uses politics as an aesthetic; social struggle is simply his muse, and it makes for robust dance music. With the subtlety of an air raid, "Gruel" unleashes rhythmic shrapnel and saw-blade screeches into its ruthless 4/4, landing somewhere between dark gabber and steely noise-techno. "Gob" churns along at the same menacing 130 BPM, with intermittent pauses made for garbled voice transmissions to feed the cacophony. Both tracks have their unique differences, but it'd be hard to make them out while blaring from the soundsystem in a dank warehouse.
Wells wraps up his EP with a less club-friendly production, and the brutalized noisescape turns out to be its most interesting—and possibly most thematic—track. It's practically impossible to make out what is being said in "Change To Win," as the voices are shrouded in effects and overwhelmed by static, but a sense of indignation and anxiety remains palpable. You could say the same of Gob as a whole.
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Published /
Mon / 17 Aug 2015 -
Words /
Patric Fallon -
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Tracklist /
A1 Gob
B1 Gruel
B2 Change To Win
Warsaw
Berlin
Edinburgh
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