Soulwax‘s latest album, From Deewee, would be impressive in any sense. It’s a wonderful blend of electro, synthwave, disco, industrial, and even a bit of trance. What makes it more impressive is that the entire album was recorded one in one take. Granted, they did multiple takes and picked the best one, but playing this entire album beginning to end with no apparent flaws is a stunning feat.
After a brief instrumental opening, the album flows into “Masterplanned” – a funky track with great synth bass and a sweet blend of electric and live drums (which will continue through the whole record). The live drums rip open “Missing Wires,” one of my favorite singles of 2017, before the wicked bass and analog synths put down a fantastic dance groove. “Conditions of a Shared Belief” has a brooding sense of industrial menace to it, proving that Soulwax loves Front 242 as much as Kraftwerk.
The drum solo at the beginning of “Is It Always Binary” is equally matched by the choppy yet highly danceable synth work. “Do You Want to Get Into Trouble?” mixes more industrial touches with hints of goth synths and John Carpenter synth bass. “My Tired Eyes” is practically an industrial ballad and “Transient Program for Drums and Machinery” could be the theme song to the album – drums,analog synthesizers, and drum machines that drift back and forth, merge, split up again, and reunite in different shapes.
“Open your eyes to the heavens,” Soulwax implores on “Trespassers” – a song that gets heavier and creepier as it rolls along to a great finish. “The Singer Has Become a Deejay” could be a takedown on musicians who attempt to operate outside their wheelhouse, or it could just be an excellent display of Soulwax’s rhythm section and Crystal Method-like programming. It flows right into the sharp dance track “Here Come the Men in Suits,” in which they warn these guys “will draw you in like moths” to their corporate culture, rampant consumerism, and shady economics.
The album ends with the subdued yet snarky “Goodnight Transmission,” with the lyric “There’s so much bullshit coming out of your mouth” sung in almost a slow jam R&B style before they encourage you to “put your weight on it.” Soulwax wants us to put up or shut up. You don’t have time for bullshit when you’re recording an entire album in one take.
You have time for this album, however. Make time for it if you have to do so. It’s one of the best of the year.
Keep your mind open.
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