Metalux - Waiting for Armadillo
(Load)
From the ashes of the under-appreciated and short-lived Bride of No No comes Metalux, the duo of J. Graf and M.V. Carbon, formerly the guitarists for the aforementioned outfit. In Metalux, though, the ladies eschew the guitars, for the most part, for a synth/tapes attack, exploring a mesh of darkwave electronics, post-industrial tumult, and electronic noise. With an interesting duality, Metalux are capable of concocting barren noise landscapes as well as more rhythmic tracks that, on some other, black-lit and fluorescent planet, might pump out onto the dance floors of the über hip. Ragged and distorted vocals, drenched in effects and delivered in a variety of disconnected or disembodies styles, float over much of the music, strident, and hypnotic.
A subtle and ominous surrealism pervades Waiting for Armadillo, exhibiting itself most successfully during some of the disc's most deeply damaged moments, especially the epic instrumental "Rotisserarie Voodoo Llama," which marks the album's high point. When the music becomes more overt, however, its effect is lessened, and the bizarre nature of Metalux's output can become more of a hindrance. The vocals can steal too much of the music's thunder, or render it flaccid and boring when compared to the disc's instrumental works. As the rhythms on the disc become more pronounced, it's easy to have a yen for more abstract material, since Graf and Carbon aren't always able to circumvent cheesy synth work or that almost gothic, industrial tendency that peeks through some of this uneven album. The dedication to the bizarre and uncomfortable that Metalux display is certainly a sign that the better moments of Waiting for Armadillo aren't anomalies, and that Metalux have distinct potential, though this second full-length may not harness it fully.
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