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Consumer Electronics

Consumer Electronics – Surge (2024)

Just as with “Airless Space” (2019), the new Consumer Electronics leaves aside the extreme power electronics of old and instead focuses on minimalist industrial sounds and spoken word. That still does not exactly make this easy listening though. The opening track, for example, first has Philip Best in a very calm voice describe the workings of a serial killer, while in the second half he -in the same tone- instructs “Michael” how to make a snow angel. Indeed, CE remains an extreme project even when the sound became less so.

The following tracks are usually odd noisy or industrial soundscapes with Best sounding like he is reading from a children’s book. Most tracks are quite ‘enjoyable’, ‘ambient noise’ perhaps. Towards the end comes a somewhat more extreme “contaminent” and a more noise title track, but nothing compared to a track such as “Come Clean”.

All in a descent album.

Links: Consumer Electronics, Dirter Promotions

Consumer Electronics – Airles Space (2019)

  • noise
Discogs.com

I did not see this one coming. A new Consumer Electronics. A cd even, with a very ugly cover too!

“Airless Space” is not as brutal as Consumer Electronics can be. Most tracks are centered around the slow, steady beat that we know from previous albums. The male vocals are of the spoken words type in most tracks and the brutalism is for Sarah who screams her lungs out in many of the tracks.

Here and there the sounds gets a bit harscher, but there are no “Come Clean” wall-of-noise type tracks (unfortunately).

When you know this long running noise outfit, you will know what to expect with the above. Should Consumer Electronics be new to you, this could be an album to try since it is fairly typical and brutal vocal-wise, but a lot less so music-wise.

Links: Consumer Electronics, Harbinger Sound