Review Summary: The consecration of Perturbator's epic music, and yet another major advancement in darksynth.
James Kent has come a long distance ever since his first EPs, such as Terror 404 and I am the Night. A defining trait of Perturbator, actually, is his ability to constantly explore his own brand of sound, even in the slightest nuances; and the latest EP he has blessed us with is called The New Model, which is to me a metaphor for how he's grown, ready for a new advancement in darksynth.
Conceptually, The New Model follows a superintelligent AI of the same name, who is in charge of another dystopic city. The AI suddenly decides to wipe out the whole of the city, leaving not a single trace of a past civilization. At least, that's what I understood from the different snippets of information that I retrieved. The concept somewhat reminded me of a manga of equal sobriety and robotic-ness, called Blame!, where the AI in charge of a world called the City suddenly loses all control and pulls the world further into chaos. And, similarly to how the manga's scenario is entirely visual and up for interpretation, Perturbator's The New Model is entirely based on sound and up for interpretation, all the while re-establishing Perturbator as a master of darksynth.
The album starts off with opener "Birth of The New Model", and clusters of bright, mellow, falling chords evolve into panned chains of straight, swift notes, while a cinematic, dawn-like synth blares over the top. Quickly, the epic atmosphere we will hear throughout the album dominates the track, and the AI already stands in its morbid glory by the end of this volatile track. Next track, “Tactical Precision Disarray” comes on, and we are already hit with syncopated, old-school screwed beats. The track absolutely annihilates you on what seems to be the first malicious act of the AI, when a dissonantly agonizing synth loudly whines into the speaker as the AI shoots you with a machine gun of hi-hats, choirs lamenting in the background.
As the minimalist, doom-like ambiance trails off into infinite darkness, composed but nonetheless depressively dystopic track “Vantablack” sounds its distant, despairing melodies. Perturbator cements his experimentation with godlike beats on the beginning of this song, sucking and clonking, but then OddZoo breathes his voice inside the track, and… while OddZoo’s vocal performance is befitting to the piece, the listener quickly realizes with horror that Perturbator has yet again written the lyrics for the vocal track. Perturbator really sucks at writing lyrics(like seriously, imagine intellectually inept, overly sensual lyrics, applied to synthwave), and it’s a bloody shame, because the song’s instrumentals are the epitome of post-punk infused cyberpunk excellence, a.k.a. what made dystopian film soundtracks so good.
Thankfully, we are not let down on exploding gritty electro fest “Tainted Empire”, clocking its way in, blasting its way out. It’s ear-melting, engaging, fast, distorted, groovy and even includes real drums in the mix. This one track is where James Kent’s black metal influence really shows, and it is not without style. The AI shoots barrage of sound after barrage of sound, and near the end of the track, if your head isn’t twisting in dizziness, you sure are pretty resistant. Dynamics tone down again on following track “Corrupted by Design”, where strings of 16th notes softly drill into your ears, and bright round notes kind of beep coldly above the mix. Mechanical sound effects invite themselves, and other industrial synths form this tissue of textures all in this controlled composed way, as if we were hearing the AI’s thoughts. Philip K. Dick influences crashing in? Maybe, but again, with style.
And right afterwards, vamping out of the blue, is “God Complex”. This track is the consecration, the peak of James Kent’s skill. Likewise, it’s the dawn of humanity, the beginning of true and intense despair, resonating clocks like a timer until the AI starts the ultimate destruction, complete with epic, catchy sub-bass synths, glitches spread across the board, pessimistic melodies reverberating melancholy in the void formed by the AI, and most importantly, the immersive atmosphere always bringing you back, back for more sadness, more suffering wrenching your gut as you helplessly look at the desolate emptiness. Yet you crave, you keep craving, the feeling keeps you alive for the whole song, until the soundscape is fully destructed by the AI.
Top-notch production, groovy lines, melodic flair, excellent template for dystopia, great concept, creativity at all costs, engaging songwriting, and more, these are defining quality traits of Perturbator’s music. Well he’s still *** at writing lyrics, but this album remains his best ever since he began making music. He’s essentially crafted a new path for darksynth to tread.
Fav tracks: Birth of the New Model, Tactical Precision Disarray, Tainted Empire, Corrupted by Design, God Complex
Less fav tracks: Vantablack
