By: Eeli Helin
Album Type: Full-length
Date Released: 29/08/19
Label: Wolves And
Vibrancy Records
”DIM” DD//LP
track listing:
1.
Letters to Aldous
2. Maelstrom
3. C
4.
Whataboutism
5.
Cognitive Bias
6.
DEL
7.
The Social Darwinist Program
8. A
9.
Der Blinde Uhrmacher
10.
L
11.
Indefinite Hiatus
12.
M
13.
H.useless
The Review:
Colored Moth are a German
experimental band who characterise themselves as ambient noise punk,
incorporating elements from noise-rock, screamo and post-hardcore, and whose
second full-length album "DIM" was released on August
29th through Wolves
and Vibrancy Records. Personally I wasn't exactly familiar with the
band apart from hearing their previous album "Fragmenting Tensions"
partly once. That is also something I slightly regret at the moment, but at
least I'll now have more material to sink my teeth into. Silver linings.
Experimentalism
tends to be a fancy expression, a polished way of saying "we crammed all
these different approaches and influences into one, smashed them to bits and
had some fun with the malformed and weird appearing jumble." Given that
it's simpler just to throw around that label, the outcome also varies a lot.
That tag contains a whole lot of unpredictability and uncertainty, but at best,
also the source of being surprising and fascinating for the listener. Even
though at times it's hard to wrap your head around their produce, Colored Moth
are still from the vital and, well, colourful end of the spectrum.
"Letter to Aldous" kick starts the
album in a discordant and emotionally heavy pace. The tones are abrasive and
the drive is constant yet gyrating, and this continues through the second track
"Maelstrom" as well.
Sonically the band is close to the likes of KEN Mode and even early Daughters,
though the latter is mainly my observation, don't need any purists to crawl up
my ass for it. Rooted in hardcore and expressing themselves very agressively
but on the contrary, tangibly touching, the album hits its first quiet waters
on "C". There's four of
these kind of silent, droning ambient tracks sprinkled throughout the album,
respectively titled "C",
"A", "L" and "M".
Obviously you get the idea by just staring at those letters in that order.
After
this brief pause, the band really shows it's teeth with the violently raging,
noise-topped "Whataboutism",
punkishly advancing and lead-wise deranged "Cognitive
Bias", and the simplistical declaring of "DEL". While these tracks start to stand out at this point, it
really takes a few listens to get the idea behind them. Each instrumentalist
brings their own flavour and feel to the tracks, which all flow like water, all
the time. After these and the following one minute dip to the caustic and
scorching end of things on "The
Social Darwinist Program", the album turns more sectioned and
cyclical.
"A" is a bridge to "Der Blinde Uhrmacher" the
first slower and perhaps the most fascinating track. The song picks up very
haunting and melancholic vibes along the way, letting the listener breathe and
sink into the moment. While being instrumental, it feels that Colored Moth's
strongest field would surprisingly be here, amidst the less vile and chaotic
fields. "L" takes us to
the shiver inducing "Indefinite
Hiatus". At this moment, the point I just made grows more meaningful,
together with the music and compositions. After the last drone piece, the
cinematic closer "H.useless"
takes the tension to a new level until a tiring, slowly dying clean guitar
passage comes to a well-deserved halt.
The
album is very, very dualistic, even bipolar. On one hand we have this almost
juvenile, rampaging critter, but on the other, there's this mature and
thoughtful, oppressing but liberating being. There's a clear division between
the two ends, which is why it also feels like a slam to your face each time.
The flow isn't problematic at any point, but the unity feels a bit off, mainly
during this one bigger, atmospherical shift. I can see the appeal to utilizing
the installment approach on an album, albeit the transition is a bit curdled
here. To end on a positive note, there's a great deal of beauty hidden in all
this cacophony, and it's admirable. I'm surprised there hasn't been more buzz
around this band lately, since "DIM" is something that should
be more widely taken into account. Colored Moth doesn't reinvent the wheel here,
but they show they can quite pleasantly roll it.
”DIM” is available HERE
