Analogue Blood is a band from Darlington in the form of Ian Hanratty (guitars, programming, synths) and Lee Teasdale (live drums). This is their second EP release in the world of industrial and they are once again joined by the very talented Alice Hour for vocals. This EP stands completely aside from all other reviews I have done this year in that this could be the birth of a new sub genre!
In their own words:
Algorithms can predict musical preference and scientists can measure the dopamine activity in the brain nuclei associated with a person's reward system defining their musical preference. Great and all but how about you just turn up the volume and listen for yourself to trendsetting capital punishment in the United Kingdom; ANALOGUE BLOOD’s new EP KILL THOSE BEATS.
A collective work that began in 2019 and was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic was completed and mastered September 2020.
The duo describes this independent release as “EBM dance beats with guitar driven rock riffs and ambient psychedelic passages within each song's structure”.
ANALOGUE BLOOD has played the Whitby Goth weekend and the Goth City Festival in Leeds but are most excited about their upcoming hometown KILL THOSE BEATS EP release performance in Darlington. Their influences include The Prodigy, Frontline Assembly, Empirion, Chemical Brothers, Pendulum, Killing Joke and Ministry.
Review
'Until the sun' opens up the E.P with a mix of meditative female vocalisation, transforming in to blissful Psy-Trance like vibes. There are cyberpunk atmospherics with cinematic themes and deep soul resonating guitar loops. This is the 4am driving anthem you've always been yearning for. It even makes me think a little of the Horizon: Zero Dawn soundtrack until it changes in to a more EDM style of vocals and rhythm. Quite a masterful mix of genres in to something fresh and utterly satisfying on a deep soul level.
'Frozen' by contrast, is unfortunately a mess. The vocal sections are off tempo to the backing samples. There seem to be too many layers and too much going on at once throughout. Yet in a way the experimental nature of the style itself is something to be admired in its own right.
With 'EBS' we hear eerily familiar influences such as early Grendel, where as with 'Awakening' we have an almost industrial take on meditational music; Which is something that I believe should continue to be explored. I could fall asleep to this just as easily as I could dance to it! (And that's incredible IMO)
'Insomnia' furthers this trance like industrial exploration but in a more tribal fashion. The retro vibes mixed with modern style intense samples and the heavenly singing of Alice hour make this a blissful track. It's about time we heard a lot more feminine vocals in industrial offerings. This track is a real joy in that same sense of being able to dance to it like crazy, or to sit and chill out to.
'Kill those beats' is a strange punk metal direction of aggressive vocals followed up by rap; which is rich in fast lyrical talent but the direction of which then becomes too grime. Not two genres that you would think mix well at all. Rap is something many artists are experimenting with incorporating to industrial at the moment and to varying levels of success. This is a boundary pushing experiment of a song. Hate it or love it, you can't deny the skill at play here.
'Never fall down' brings the synthwave anthem to the party and 'Virus 2020' is soul lifting with its cyberpunk guitar riffs and heaven sent vocals. Yet another track that makes Analogue Blood stand out in a difficult electronic sea.
Finally the Inertia remix of 'Never fall down' really smooths the edges of this album off in to a beautiful addition to any collection.
Tracklist:
Conclusion:
Analogue Blood have touched upon a genre here I wasn't quite sure existed but have always hoped for. A mixture of trance EDM and industrial flow in and out at different parts of this EP creating a deep, intriguing listen that in equal parts relaxes as much as it enthuses to dance. At some points it questions your own comfort at the experimental nature.
Here we have an offering of industrial trance, to pardon the pun that is somewhat unlike anything else I have heard this year. The 2nd E.P from the North East Electro duo Analogue Blood releases November 9th, 2020.
Top tracks:
Until the sun
Awakening
Virus 2020
Scores:
Technicality: 7/10
Dance factor: 7/10
Energy: 8/10
Vocals: 8/10
Re-playability: 8.5/10
Overall score: 7.7 / 10
Annalogue Blood's Spotify HERE
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