[Basementgrrr] - Destroy Everything (2018)

Noise, destructive behaviour, hatred, sadness, gridlocked and incapable of self reflection, sleeping just to suddenly wake up to see what's left of us.... and in the end there is only HOPE? [basementgrrr] returns one year after the “soul striptease” of “Hurt”, and is set to prove again he’s not a man to play it safe: Considerably harsher than its predecessor, “Destroy Everything” largely discards harmonic electronica and opts for a bleak dark ambience interrupted by upfront guitar riffs and electro sequences atop shuffled drum beats. The sound may change, the invariable in the output of [basementgrrr] is the authentic, heartfelt nature of his music: A storyline of struggle, self-doubt: Should one react to the hostile nature of society with retreat, “Turn up the volume so I can not hear the world scream?”

“The Noise of Destruction in a Distance + Pitbull” is the entire album in a nutshell: A desolate monochrome soundscape breaks into a driving drum pattern and a build-up of aggressive sequences. Some moments of relief are found nevertheless, as in the downbeat elegance “Lazy Shiny God” or the almost dreamy post-rock meanderings of “Aeons” and “Leaving is not the answer” – which leads to the conclusion of hope, a majestic, grave outro, carefully forward-thinking, but not promising it would be easy for sure.