Here's a nice review of the new Contrastate 10" in Vital Weekly.
CONTRASTATE - 35 PROJECT (10" by Black Rose Recordings)
For a minute I thought Contrastate were celebrating thirty-five years of existence with this 10", but it seems a bit too premature. I am not sure what '35 Project' stands for, and with the four pieces all being untitled, I have no idea. In the first there is a voice about war, which, in the current climate, seems spot on, but its lyrical content is not entirely clear. I think it's a song protesting wars in general. The voice is robotic and the music droning and threatening. A pretty strong on, and very much a Contrastate song. This trio have developped a sound of their own over the years, in which drones play a role, but also voice, singing, talking, dramatic and forceful, but not always. That's, for someone like me who is not too fond of vocals, a great thing. Contrastate applies a more collage-like approach in their music. Not too rapid cuts but layering various elements and find a dialogue there. Electronics, drones, the rattling of percussion, studio techniques, a bit of voice. All of that delivers some dramatic music as that is the strng power of this group. It's dark and dramatic, music for the big stage. It's that odd pairing (well, perhaps) that makes that Contrastate's music is different from many other groups. It is never on the all too abstract. It all culminates in 'Untitled IV', with a strong rhythm, and a song slowly falling apart, returning, it seems to the lyrics of the first. Only the fact that they use the word untitled as song titles, is a sign of abstraction, I think. These four songs are all very much four minutes, plus a few seconds I am sure there is a hiden meaning there as well. The only thing that slightly bothered me was the fact that this is a 10", sixteen minutes of music. I wished it was a full album, and more twice this length. (FdW)
