'The
Future Is Written'
SELF-RELEASED
SELF-RELEASED
South-London based
experimental industrial act Non-Bio return with their latest
full-length studio album 'The Future Is Written'. Known for blending
electronic, powernoise, ambient and industrial elements the band have
crafted an intriguing and sometimes confrontational back catalogue.
'The
Future Is Written' sees Non-Bio continue to refine their sound and
push the boundaries of experimental electronics by making their
disjointed and unfriendly sound manipulations strangely appealing.
The
album opens up with the slow rhythmic noise of 'The Servility
Device', a minimal a disorientating track centred around a pulsing
rhythm that throws you off balance from the start. However the dirty,
glitchy old school sounds of 'You Reborn' harks back to the chaotic
but defined appeal of early industrial sounds of acts like Throbbing
Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire and Skinny Puppy, and this is built on
nicely by the unfriendly mechanical break-down of tracks like 'Facial
Recognition', 'Distraction', 'Revenge Makes You Stronger', 'Overcome
Anxiety', 'Dreamstate', 'We Own Your Memories' and End User
Agreement' which despite their often noisy elements maintain a sense
of rhythm and melody.
Though
tracks such as 'Quit Smoking', 'Loose Weight', 'Believe', and
'Nourish' push these noise and experimental ideas into harsher and
less user-friendly areas, and would definitely perhaps tip a casual
listener over the edge there is still method in their madness and
remain compelling listening.
The
production is gritty and low-fi throughout. Distorted vocals,
rhythms, samples and synth sometimes teeter on becoming a pure all of
noise. But it doesn't. There is a minimalist feel to the band's
compensations that doesn't overwhelm the tracks. It's chaotic yes,
but Non-Bio are in full control at all times.
This
is another solid album that blurs the lines between appeal and
revulsion, the cerebral and the bestial. There are some solid rhythms
and the odd hint of melody that shine out amongst the harsh din of
noise, but it is in no way a commercial endeavour. Non-Bio are less
“Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep” and more “Do Terminators
Have Nightmares About Their Victims?”. Hopefully there will be
another full-length album to get stuck into before too long.