A Review of Solus Patior by Jennifer Hor from the Sound Projector Zine
“This recording is as close as I’ll get to hearing a strange amalgam of famous UK power electronics band Whitehouse-meets-black-metal. Even the track titles are cryptic one-word names that admit of no context or point of view in a way those former Whitehouse men William Bennett and Phillip Best themselves might have once approved of. There may be criticism of the capitalist economic system though in the juxtaposition of titles like “Factory” and “Capitalism” with others like “Vermin”, “Underground”, “Occupation” and “Secretion”: this suggests a link between capitalist modes of production and economic control on one hand, and bonded slavery, imprisonment and loss of freedoms on the other.
First up is “Delirious”, a weirdly askew abstract bleep-n-bloop synth or electronic rhythm piece with droning bass and blurred rasping scream that collapses in a high-pitched droning squeal amid crackles of noise and blopping strangled-water tones in the background: this track sets the blank tone for the rest of the album and it’s a very sinister and aggressive piece at that. “Factory” is a much spacier piece but no less angry in an intense, repressed way. “Capitalism” comes close to the histrionic approach of Dutch act Gnaw Their Tongues with its insane nuclear-powered jackhammer beats and “Vermin” continues in a similar manner with more frenzied vocals, booming drones and an irregular industrial scrap-metal scratching rhythm. A more regular pulsing rhythm arises from within the noise but this is punctuated by clanging, scratching metal bangs and slashes, as though two robot samurai were fighting with rusty swords.
Quieter tracks of existential alienation like “Factory” and “Underground” provide interesting counterpoint interludes in the recording and perhaps allude to the anomie (an extreme sense of isolation, a feeling of being atomised and adrift from your fellow humans) that workers in capitalist societies often feel. The most Whitehouse-sounding track “Prisoner”, with its oppressive dicking rhythm loop, a blunt beat and two sets of vocals, plays havoc with your sanity. “Silence” on the other hand definitely seems the most dance-friendly abstract piece with a strange moaning loop, an insistent, snake-like percussion rhythm and inhuman treated vocals. As for “Occupation”, I’m not sure what kind of dance best suits this jazz-influenced track with the skronky saxophone and toy-box drumming but it’d have to be a really hyperactive, jerky kind of routine where dancers are in danger of punching each other!
A high-pressure noise hose is turned on for “Suffering” which later becomes chuggy and overwhelming in its thick layers of flying noise debris. Outro track “Secretion” seems the weakest of the lot: it starts off with a lot of reverbed tinny noise and found sound recordings
The overall feeling here is one of oppression, extreme isolation and claustrophobia. Human beings are imprisoned by machines and social / economic / political systems they have made and have agreed to serve. Life generally is soulless and subject to the demands of our technology and the systems and values that run it and govern our lives. Although the dominant style of music borrows heavily from power electronics and industrial music, there is a strong black metal influence in the vocals and the intense demonic fury that runs right through the music.
While some tracks have the feel of being incomplete or a little one-dimensional and could do with further development of some rhythm textures and an extreme extension of particular sounds, drones and tones, NRIII has got off to a good start with this debut album and I for one am looking forward to seeing what this Florida-based act will do next.”
