Alec Empire : '1000 Eyes'
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Released: 6th December 2009
Label: Eat Your Heart Out
It would seem Alec Empire has mellowed somewhat since his days in the noise-fuelled Atari Teenage Riot or the early days of his solo career. Compare the likes of ‘Everything Starts With A Fuck' to this new single '1000 Eyes' and you’ll see my point.
'1000 Eyes' has a droning, Bob Dylan-esque quality to Alec’s vocal slowly worded over guitars that have a slow burning intensity as opposed to the screaming intensity of earlier productions. In keeping with his past there is a short electronic introduction before the guitars kick in, sounding, perhaps akin to less crushingly industrial Jesu. A restrained mid-section through which electronics swirl over the picked drone of the guitars breaks the song apart nicely, adding to it and keeping it from being five minutes of indie-drone. We are led though the second, for want of a better word, verse (a basic repeat of the first. But, hey, if it ain’t broke…) before being led gently out of the piece with an almost beautifully melodic minute long outro.
I have to say, while it is potentially a loss for extreme music if Alec Empire has lost his inner rage and confusion, if this is the result that one man’s loss will be another’s gain. This a rather lovely droning indie single that combines gentle Jesu-esque ambient distortion with a far more caressing vocal from Empire than I ever thought I would hear. Album please.
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