Burnt Carpet Stained Sheets
Aqua-Eroticum
2019
(Artist Submission)
Review by Joey
Genre/s: Industrial, Power Electronics, Noise
For Fans Of: The Sodality, Genocide Organ, The Grey Wolves, Brighter Death Now
Releases like this remind me why the genre is called power electronics. No, not because it's powerful electronic music har har, but because it explores power and its effects/consequences/etc in a truly disturbing, yet poignant manner. This is the kind of power electronics release I hope to hear when someone submits to FBN, yet rarely do.
Burnt Carpet Stained Sheets was recorded in 2015 before Aqua-Eroticum took a hiatus (which they have recently announced is over), but wasn't released until 2019 by noise's shining boy Joe Frataxin's label Uninvited. The release runs the gamut of different sounds in the style, from harsh piercing screeches of 80s UK artists such as Un-Kommuniti and Ramleh, to low rumbling pulsing of 80s-90s German and Swedish artists such as G/O and BDN, and everything in between, all accompanied by frantic, manic vocals that send a chill down my spine. The subject matters are appalling, as is to be expected, but not done in such a way that brings to mind juvenile antics. One thing that sent this over the top for me was the cover of The Sodality, an artist who I feel are often criminally overlooked by many industrial fans, but are absolutely crucial as far as I'm concerned -- and yes, they nail the cover. The collaboration with Interracial Sex, another bright light of contemporary power electronics, is also fantastic, and a perfect way to close out this absolutely brutal exercise in pain tolerance.
This release is essential listening for anyone invested in contemporary power electronics, and I can't wait to hear what Aqua-Eroticum has in store in the future. Listen or don't.
Tracklist:
1. Crack Rocks & Colt 45
2. Dead Or In Jail
3. Instant Release
4. Hot Rails!
5. Burnt Carpet Stained Sheets
6. Another Compulsion
7. An Obvious Disease
8. Saturday Night Special
9. Catch The Whore (The Sodality)
10. Blisters (Feat. Interracial Sex)