

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 -
Tracklist /
A1 Gob
B1 Gruel
B2 Change To Win
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