Published by Alessandro Violante on October 12, 2017
Try to close your eyes and immerse yourself in the new dark episode of the discography of the Belgian protect Kaibun, called Gloomy Alice and Sinister Jack. Kaibun is the Japanese translation of palindrome, the band is formed by Laurent Delogne alias Le Moderniste (a project with many good albums) and by his girlfriend Frigid Girl. It’s a very gloomy story consumed in an industrial building situated in an unknown industrial periphery. One one side there is Jack’s depression, the gloomy monotony of his mind, and on the other one there is Alice, who finds her inner peace by cutting herself. So it’s not so strange the fact that the music here presented is very dark and gray, amplified by a rough production.
Arguably, it’s a long and complex album, even kaleidoscopic, different from the first work by Kaibun called Illogism, published some years ago. It was not very original, paying his due to the godfathers of rhythmic noise, first of all the Belgian ones, and to techno gabber. Gloomy Alice and Sinister Jack is different because is far from the concept usually linked to this genre, trying different solutions and styles, an interesting way to link techno industrial (use the opener as a reference) and HANDS‘ syncopated and claustrophobic rhythms (Prozac doesn’t protect us anymore). We get a rhythmic noise sound in episodes like They decide to accept the invitation, while Find peace in self harming shows a dark ambient nature, and Blood soaked kiss (pain dividing) is a tribal syncopated piece.
This synthesis between tribal and electronic sounds, modern and ancient, techno and rhythmic noise is a fully realized expression of modern music and in this Le Moderniste follow his name by showing us an uncanny ability in mixing different languages and cultures, showing us a great courage by choosing an unpredictable and changing sound. None would have thought of a so different follow up to the previous effort, but with results like these, we can only say this is a good thing.
The new Kaibun work expresses our time, now techno industrial is a big thing in the underground world, and not only there. HANDS label has introduced this sound in some of its more recent albums without forgetting its own peculiar sound and the stylistic research typical of Udo Wiessmann‘s label (the last New Frames for example, an artist who played together with Kaibun during the last FORMS OF HANDS).
Meanwhile Delogne has produced another Le Moderniste album called Imbalsamazione with the Italian label Infidel Bodies, a tribute to the Italian masters of post-industrial music enriched by his personal touch. Here he shows his personality, and we can foresee a future where his works as Kaibun will keep this creative urge. Gloomy Alice and Sinister Jack is a very good and out-of-the-schemes album which deserve the attention of the fans of the genre and by the uninitiated.
Label: HANDS
Rating: 8