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S/V\R, "Sur Les Femmes I & II"
As half of avant metal duo Menace Ruine, S. (or whatever permutation of that initial he uses) does not like to be confined to that style, and his S/V\R side project does the same thing with harsh noise and industrial rhythms. At times grating and abrasive, and other times structured and pensive, this tape nicely covers those two extremes while still sounding like a unified whole.
Split into two conceptual halves, the first part, "Le Chaos," is definitely the more noise oriented of the two sections."Vanités" immediately launches in with maxed out noise layers that grind with the intensity of an old Macronympha tape.What stands out, however, is a feeling of organization and structure, albeit subtle.The same holds true for "Suspecte":on the surface it is chaotic churning noise, but it has a sense of shape and order throughout, but never relenting until its dramatic, dead stop ending.
"Désordre" differs a bit in that comes across somewhat more disjointed, but there still order to be heard, even if it is a bit less overt amongst the sandpaper like layers of distortion."Anéanti" also opts to be a bit different ,beginning with some non-distorted electronic tweaking, but also hints at a deep, stuttering rhythm amongst the metallic ringing and massive pounding.
In some ways this is acts a teasing of the other half of the tape, "La Nuit," which scales back the noise dramatically and instead focuses on rudimentary electronic drumming and percussion."Contrition" begins the exact opposite as the other side, with a massive, echoing expanse and a monotone, heartbeat like thump that eventually becomes more complex, but rather than intense it comes across as more hollow and isolated.
The following "Désœuvrement" hinges on a noisy low end surge with thin and brittle drum machine rhythms atop.With that combination of basic rhythms with harsher electronics, I caught a bit of an early Esplendor Geometrico vibe, with a more ambient and less techno orientation.Closer "Blessé" drops the rhythms all together, leaving some grandiose synth pads that have a distinctly gothic sensibility to them, but carefully making sure to stay out of overwrought territories.
S/V\R definitely integrates some of the familiar tropes of noise, power electronics, and old school industrial into their sound, but it never fits perfectly into any specific classification.The dichotomy of sound and dynamics, clearly defined all the way to the split tape shell colors, makes for a powerful duality that I would be curious to hear more integrated together.
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