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Cruelty Campaign, "Distressed Signals"
Cruelty Campaign is one of the newest signings to the ever growing andincreasingly more popular German label, Tesco Organisation. TheCalifornian duo emerges from a Hollywood milieu and this backgroundlends a cinematic quality to the recordings of mostly found sounds,such as the subtle rhythms of Roger Karmanik's refrigerator.
Pardon thepun, but the sample is a good indication of the entire album, cold andstark, at times interrupted by dark fluctuating rumbles with theslightest hint of a beat. Intriguing vocal samples, like a Germandomestic argument in "The Arguement" and old recordings of secretagents in the title track, pop in and out of the recordings, allexpertly timed. The music glides effortlessly from electronic drone andnoise to what could very well be actual instruments such as organs andviolins, but are most likely sampled, and the album still manages toretain its penchant for peculiarity. Cruelty Campaign's strength liesin illustrating the oddness of the modern world. They distill soundsand noises that are part of the every day, and often taken for granted,and incorporate them into dark and gripping pieces best described as asoundtrack for the Earth of a parallel dimension. 'Distressed Signals'is without a doubt an exceptional postmodern pastiche as it cobblestogether numerous found sources, including the cd's artwork, into adocument that many electronic bands would do well to learn from.
Pardon thepun, but the sample is a good indication of the entire album, cold andstark, at times interrupted by dark fluctuating rumbles with theslightest hint of a beat. Intriguing vocal samples, like a Germandomestic argument in "The Arguement" and old recordings of secretagents in the title track, pop in and out of the recordings, allexpertly timed. The music glides effortlessly from electronic drone andnoise to what could very well be actual instruments such as organs andviolins, but are most likely sampled, and the album still manages toretain its penchant for peculiarity. Cruelty Campaign's strength liesin illustrating the oddness of the modern world. They distill soundsand noises that are part of the every day, and often taken for granted,and incorporate them into dark and gripping pieces best described as asoundtrack for the Earth of a parallel dimension. 'Distressed Signals'is without a doubt an exceptional postmodern pastiche as it cobblestogether numerous found sources, including the cd's artwork, into adocument that many electronic bands would do well to learn from.
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