WL//WH Review ASSASSUN
One more rough, aggressive, and protest music so determined for a long stay in the stereo is the brand new album “Chronic Quicksand Depression Morning” LP by ASSASSUN from Berlin, or if you want it in other words; this is the new album by Alexander Leonard Donat through his own Blackjack Illuminist Records. The record was released on March 24 and I read in the EPK “The album is a bleak statement that is as much self-therapy and a means to break free, as it is a document of self-destruction and hopelessness.” I don’t worry at all about his sanity as I am accustomed to his music and the motivation behind his works all the time for many years now. The album is not any letter before suicide but a letter to mankind regarding the vicious circle we are trapped in.
Here, ASSASSUN created a mechanical, motorik soundscape that can easily throw you to the dancefloor of your house or to the glade of your haunt, with music and lyrics that are narrating our angelic and beautiful modern world…all ‘explained’ by synthpunk, electropunk, and the greater industrialism. “CQDM” LP includes 11 brand new songs all in the likes of the initial EBM heritage and the agony of bands such as DAF, Front 242, Suicide and Soft Cell, and more…and if you are stuck to the proto-industrialism of Einsturzende Neubauten you will find connections and similarities to the ASSASSUN new opus.
It appears to be a fact that humanity is so pissed off and with all beings losing their way, being deceived daily, and as obedient creatures, we await the slaughter – this is the music that this machine is bringing and this is the frightful feast in this new and very impressive musical offering by an artist who rings the bells…gladly he is not the only one to shout about with his art. Naturally, I would write more about the music and all the things around it but when it comes to protest music I focus more on the idea behind the creation than on the creation alone. “CQDM” LP is indeed an utterly groovy record, uptempo, raw, mechanical, and so well arranged all over. After all, we know well Donat and the rest of his acts, Vlimmer, Fir Cone Children, WHOLE, and Feverdreamt. A musician who is always very keen on surprising the listener not only with the variations in his own music but mostly with the seeming non-normality of his works. But when was WL//WH a ‘normal’ music journal to be now?! You already know us well. So, grab “CQDM” LP on CD, Cassette, and Digitally, and listen to it loud, it is like a firestarter or even like the admission that everything ends – and what ends, shows continuation… choose sides!
Keep up with Assassun:
Written by Loud Cities’ Mike
