With each successive release,
Blawan
has always started from scratch and come up with a different template for his sound, never producing the same record twice. He's gone down an especially strange path since signing with
XL
, however. Instead of delivering techno club bangers, he's made scuffed-up, grimy post-industrial mutations closer to the likes of
the Bug
and
Andy Stott
than
Surgeon
or
Perc
. Concurrently, he's also made harsh electro-industrial metal as part of the duo
Persher
.
SickElixir
is what he deems his first proper full-length, and he uses it to process personal traumas. Most of the tracks feature unsettling distortion and demonic vocals, as well as lurching, quasi-dancehall rhythms. It seems like he's designed every sound for the purpose of making the listener uncomfortable. Opener "The GL Lights" bristles with blown-out distortion, while the queasy synths and pitched-down vocals are paranoid and menacing. "Rabbit Hole," featuring previous guest collaborator
Monstera Black
, is a bit faster, bubblier, and more approachable, even if it feels like it's luring the listener into a trap. "Don't Worry We Happy" manages to sound both playful and evil, with a degree of sarcasm detected in the vocals. "Creature Brigade" is the album's most impressive showcase of head-spinning modular synth textures and complex rhythms. The stomping "Donny Dome" brings this grotesque album to a close, though it does feel like some refracted beams of light are trying to shoot through.
is the most challenging listen in
's catalog, which makes it all the more unexpected that it's his first album for such a high-profile label, but it still contains some fascinating material. ~ Paul Simpson