Superstatic Revolution "Goodbye Mr. Wanton" LP
[Radar Swarm]
Nice. I liked what I heard from this French act on their split 7" with Submerge, and this full-length offers more of the same, but to a more powerful degree. After a series of splits and EP's this is the rather prolific band's first full-length, and I think they've endured some lineup changes as well, which might explain some of the growth in their sound, but regardless... this is a damn fine record. There's definitely a little bit more of a focus on pulsing rhythms and surging riffs that are akin to a lot of what has in the past comprised the "Hydra Head sound" (think Knut, Cult of Luna, Isis, etc. - though more accurately the band absolutely fits in with what I'd tag a "Radar Swarm sound"), but these guys are definitely more diverse than most of that stuff, easily swaying from pounding power chords to slick dissonant arpeggios or blazing speeds that are almost reminiscent of black metal. "Color and Fragrance" gives the rhythm section a little more room to shine and drops some incredibly awesome drum fills and lots of intricate little guitar riffs that are right up my alley. "Like the Patron Saint" shifts from intense melodies to totally fucked up little rock riffs and acerbic trills, but the intense melody returns with the awesome "The Lone Son", which has a little more speed involved, but manages to keep things energetic and interesting despite shuffling through plenty of changes that include a succinct spoken passage and lots of searing picking patterns and quick stutters of midpaced rhythms. A similar approach is delivered in "James Walker Cover", as it jumps back and forth from gritty grooves to blasting drums and frantically picked chords, whereas "Originally Recorded in 1997" (a re-recorded track from the aforementioned split with Submerge) even briefly hints at death metal riffing with some tremolo picking and vicious midpaced breaks complete with pinch harmonics!? "Little Boy Photograph" tends to ease up on the speeds more often and provides a nice breather late in the game, though it's no less in your face as a result of its spaciousness; and the same can be said for the also consistently slower and sludgier "Flashlight - Only Clouding the Matter", which tosses in some rhythmic vocal arrangements over one of the more rocked out chord progressions (in a Black Sabbath way, that is) - possibly my favorite song herein. There are also several instances where it sounds like they play a riff once and never return to it nor modify it in any way, which is pretty wild, and certainly calls for repeated listening in order to try and get a grasp on how they're putting things together. The recording is pretty damn full and resonant. At times the percussion can be overpowering and has a little bit of a weird rigidity to it, but for the most part the drums sound killer and I think everything else sounds fine and dandy. The bass doesn't often have too much breathing room, but it does add density to the already crushing and caustic guitars, and the basslines force themselves to the surface when necessary, so I'm fine with that. The violent shouting vocals sound perfect (reminding me of Bloodlet), so really my key suggestion would be to try to get a little more balance happening in the mix. I think the drummer is incredible and he's got a great knack for just bashing away and then sliding into jazzy cymbal work or insane fills, but he's definitely overpowering the guitar parts along with the vocals on occasion, so easing back on some of that could make a hell of a difference. Like I said though, for the most part it's in fine order. The artwork looks awesome as hell and the matte full color sleeve is definitely an impressive sight to behold. The insert is also done in full color and looks equally nice, with clean text arrangements. The lyrics are really curious, and sort of tie together throughout all of the songs without being too direct. Each track is sort of like a miniature narrative in a larger story, but even though some of the songs reference one another, nothing is too clear as to the complete picture, which makes for an intriguing experience: "So you were in bed when your husband returned? There has been a rush on a drama so far as adultery got into, The front room clock said 10 minutes past 12, It was a shock to him, He told her to get out but she had her own keys." The vinyl edition of this album is limited to a one-time pressing of 800 copies, so interested parties who favor LP's should pick this one up sooner than later. It's available on CD from another label, so I'll be searching out that edition soon so that I can spin this one more often. I'm really quite a big fan of the Radar Swarm label, and I think all of their releases deserve far more attention here in the US, so definitely look into this. Great work. (8/10)
Running time - 40:00 (approximately), Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Color and Fragrance, The Lone Son, Little Boy Photograph, Flashlight - Only Clouding the Matter]
Radar Swarm - http://www.radarswarm.com

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