Review: JK Flesh / Monrella – Shouting the Odds
Insert Techno Viking video here
Justin K. Broadrick is a name that needs no introduction, but here’s a quick one anyway. Anyone into the industrial and experimental fringes of metal knows of Godflesh and Jesu, though the man himself has proven to be an extremely prolific and active musician outside the world of guitar music. Since 2012 and in between making cold, harsh metal with Godflesh or lush, noisy guitar-driven soundscapes with Jesu, Broadrick mostly keeps himself busy as JK Flesh doing electronic music both under his own name as well as a producer and remixer, collaborating with almost anyone. (Incidentally, have fun reading that Wikipedia article devoted to his discography.) Regardless, because of his insanely focused and expansive work ethic, you’re bound to run into something made or remixed by him if you look, and today we’ve got JK Flesh’s second collab with Monrella, aka Mick Harris (Scorn, Lull, Painkiller, ex-Napalm Death), another acclaimed, genre-bending, multidisciplinary artist, under the title Shouting the Odds.
As stated, this split album is the duo’s second collaboration in 5 years, and the goal was simple: to make hard techno music which they also describe as militant, and if you’re familiar with either Broadrick or Harris’ past work in the world of electronica, you’ll definitely know what to expect. Hard beats, industrial-flavoured, pulsing synths and a bleak but hypnotic soundscape, perfect for the dance floor during the dread of night.
And with that I can get into my main issue with the songs by both artists: the monotony. Now, I do want to stress that this isn’t a dig at them or their talents, far be it from me to diss two of the most renowned artists in the realms of metal, experimental and electronic music today, but the main issue I have here is that this music is meant to be played at clubs, raves and dancefloors. In that realm Broadrick and Harris excel as they always do, and they definitely know how to make their forays into electronic music sound as harsh and gritty as their more niche material, particularly Harris; his songs are much rawer and distorted, though Broadrick is still a master of creating hypnotic beats with his signature electro-industrial style. My main issue is that on its own the music gets repetitive because again, this is meant for dancing, aggressive, potentially intoxicated dancing, but dancing nonetheless, and I’ll be honest, at some moments when I was listening I did get the urge to stand up and move. Anecdotal admissions aside, as I was writing my notes, the aggressive switch-up between JK Flesh’s tracks into Monrella’s was so whiplash-inducing that I needed to bring it up.
Overall the music is successful in its mission statement, I can guarantee that this split will kill at a rave, and I’m sure that people who can sit down to listen to hard techno will get a kick out of this, but for me personally, this is a project I respect more than I like but it is still a good display of two masters’ talent in their craft, so definitely check for yourself and come to your own conclusions. As for me, I’ll probably try to convince some DJ to play this when I go to a club.
3/5 Flaming Toilets ov Hell
SHOUTING THE ODDS is available now on Bandcamp.
