OUTOFTHEWIRE – Pompeji
OUTOFTHEWIRE is an experimental drone/dubstep mishmash from Berlin, Germany. Their debut, released on June 25th, 2021, does just enough to stand out from the oversaturated genre.
Trippy time signatures are the highlight of the magnificent opener, POMPEJI. Like any good math rock or trip-hop, the beats align at the right moments for maximal impactful, yet they simultaneously fragment and deliriously divide while they take their own path between the bars. WEIRD CLIMATE OF CHANGE explores industrial textures more thoroughly, as if it’s rummaging through a trashed, desolate city to find them. The structure is more straightforward, though the detail makes up for it. When the album steers more towards drone, it loses steam not only in energy, but in ideas. The template often feels far too alike your everyday generic trp-hop producer, with a gritty lick of paint over the top. While the textures are fascinating, they are not strong enough for repeated listens. Furthermore, the sample use often feels lazy, and while the beats are varied and progressive, the composition is very straightforward. A distinct, separate accompanying melody would have gone a long way with these baron soundscapes. The last song, CHOKE SMOKE, gets it right, though. Like the opener, the structure is incredibly lose, yet ties together fascinatingly. The song neither sticks to drone or dubstep conventions, seamlessly switching between them marvelously. The song exists on its own plane of existence; you could easily repeat it on a loop and forever get stuck within it.
Pompeji is a mixed bag, but its highs are high enough to warrant a solid recommendation. The opener and closer both distinguish themselves well from the experimental electronic scene with their creative use of space, their fragmented melodies and varied textural work, though the middle section of the album sadly detours into far too familiar territory.
Good
Listen to it here:
