love
after several delays with the album release, it has come out at last. "love" contains several new tracks and a number of remixes from the previous album; two doctors have been joined by dr. ool and together they continue creating sick and demented, harsh and goofy sounds that will make everyone cringe with painful pleasure.
starting out with the new tracks, you are treated with the same mix of overpowering, bass-saturated, heavily processed and abrasive rhythms. instrumental "devotion" features familiar harsh pulses contrasted by softer melancholic elements. squealing, screeching, slowly creeping "love" comes next with whispered vocals and already familiar percussion. pleasant "sincere" is quite unexpected with its clean synths and minimal percussion; one of my favorites on this album, "i'll miss you 4 ever", could be considered a trademark a+p track - dislocated synths, voice seeping with venom, fast-paced harsh percussion, and several seconds of country music-banjo backed by homer simpson (?) samples in the middle of the track followed by an immediate onslaught of pulsing rhythms.
the ultimate heaviness is reached on "affection" bombarding you with impossibly twisted rhythms, detached synths and thick waves of abrasive percussive mayhem. brooding menacing atmosphere is emphasized by several moments of clean chorus on the background. electrotherapy is continued with "my heart belongs 2 you" and similar "seduce u"; both are more ebm-like tracks with unexpected twists and turns full of aggression and uneasy tension.
throughout the album you are presented with nice atmospheric tracks where percussion is reduced to the minimum and only thick waves of abrasive saturated drones and samples fill the air; they serve as nice breaks between ferocious sonic attacks.
several remixes of well-known "skumfuk" and "boneloc" complete the album.
artz+pfusch delivers raw ebm with a distinctive sound, creating dense atmosphere of hatred, blind anger and blatant sarcasm. judging by the lyrics and especially samples, the trio doesn't take themselves seriously, and this mix of power and cynical humor is what sets this band apart and gives their music yet another dimension.
at times I wouldn't mind hearing "cleaner", more polished sound on some of the tracks, but I suppose this would be the end of the distinctive appeal that the band possesses. at first the music might appear to be quite repetitive for an unfamiliar listener, it really does take time and certain attention to separate music layers and start fully enjoying the album.