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Our Love Will Destroy the World, "Blue Eyes Are My Reward" and "I Hate Even Numbers"
Campbell Kneale has been enjoying quite an impressive creative rebirth since retiring Birchville Cat Motel and re-emerging as Our Love Will Destroy the World, but he wound up with an extremely difficult predicament on his hands in the process: 2009's Fucking Dracula Clouds pretty much perfected the art of being as gnarled, ugly, and visceral as possible and took guitar-based noise about as far as it could logically go.  Unwilling to repeat himself, these two new albums document Kneale's struggle to emerge from that stylistic cul de sac and find innovative new ways to remain vital and nightmarish.
It took me a while to warm to Krayon's Blue Eyes Are My Reward because it feels a bit restrained and scattered compared to past Our Love Will Destroy the World albums.  In fact, the exuberantly strummed acoustic guitar in "Kisses Flaming Hell" approximates what I envision Swervedriver jamming at a beach party might sound like (which is "pretty damn annoying," actually).  However, the rest of the album is pretty unwaveringly excellent despite Kneale's many bold departures from his comfort zone. He does include one characteristically snarling hellscape in the roaring "Triple Encryption Dynasty" that should please anyone hoping for more typical OLWDTW fare, but the remainder of the record is packed full of unexpected surprises ranging from psych-damaged bagpipe drones to tabla-driven ethno-ambiance.  There are also several songs that call to mind a more muscular version of mid-period Zoviet France, melding insistently looping pile-ups of odd percussion, field recordings, and voices with strangled and warped guitars. The fact that very few of these pieces are immediately recognizable as Our Love Will Destroy The World could arguably be considered a flaw, but that is an inherent and unavoidable peril with evolution in general.  This is a very impressive and unexpected effort.
Dekorder's I Hate Even Numbers, on the other hand, is significantly more immediate, distinct, abrasive, and consistent, yet falls quite flat progression-wise.  Thematically, Kneale stays pretty focused on further exploring the possibilities of incorporating thumping beats and deep bass lines to his usual ear-searing, cacophonous onslaught. The dance music elements are generally kept pretty straightforward, like the four-on-the-floor house beat of the title cut, but that seems to be the point: rendering danceable grooves undanceable with shrill feedback, metallic whines, and a litany of non-musical sounds.  Unfortunately, Kneale doesn't quite go anywhere worthwhile with it on the first half of the album, opting to idly ravage unchanging beats without much in the way of pay-off.  The second side of the album is a bit more inventive, as both "Snipers on Skis" and "Twins Like Swans" are built upon unusual mutant-Indian beats, but it still can't escape feeling like a series of underdeveloped song skeletons.  The album's brightest spot is "Tokyo Modern Magic" which marries a somewhat anthemic synth motif to grinding guitar noise and bubbling electronics with some success.  It still fails to evolve much, but it achieves a kind of immersive power simply through sheer density and activity.  I Hate Even Numbers is definitely heavy and attention-grabbing, but its appeal dies rapidly with repeat listens.
Of the two albums, Blue Eyes Are My Reward is the vastly superior one, proving that Campbell is still as daring, restless, and inspired as ever.  In fact, Kneale himself has described it as the best thing he's ever done and I come pretty close to agreeing, but Fucking Dracula Clouds was an absolute monolith of brutality.  I Hate Even Numbers should have been yet another such triumph, but Campbell appears to have lost his talent for dynamics somewhere during the recording process: he seems a bit de-fanged, content to merely augment his songs with harshness rather than aggressively tearing them to shreds or burying them in avalanches of entropy.  The difference between "unpleasantly discordant" and "viciously ugly" is a hugely important one, I'm afraid. These two records definitely leave me pleasantly puzzled, hinting that Campbell's days as a guitar abuse visionary may be winding to a close, but that yet another artistic breakthrough may be imminent.
Blue Eyes Are My Reward Samples:
I Hate Even Numbers Samples:
 
 
