The excellently titled 'Chronic Quicksand Depression Morning' is the second album from Assassun, a relatively new incarnation from Berlin based musician Alexander Leonard Donat (whose other monikers include among them, Vlimmer). I recall having enjoyed last year's 'Sunset Skull', so was prepared to enjoy this one also. As always when it comes to reviewing music, I must state first that I know next to nothing about music. For this album, I listened to it twice while tidying my house, a third listen as I try and crash through this review.
The album is described as '...a clash of glistening retro-futuristic synthwave/EBM with bitter and raw punk/wave vocals - a bleak descent into the exhausted psyche struggling to survive the daily terror of human interaction'. That sums it up far better than I ever could, especially as glancing at my notes they are very sparse.
The forty five minute album opens with 'Excavate', a sneering punk song set against a hypnotic industrial beat. I was taken by just how good the music sounded. It has a slightly discordant twist to the tunes that never gets tiring. Most the tracks I made notes against them saying how good they sound, enough that on a few occasions I found myself humming and vaguely dancing along as I cleaned. Tracks like 'At Gunpoint', 'Fear Doubled' and 'Amniotic Concrete' all have such cool beats to them.
Much like 'Sunset Skull', this has a bitter, angry, and resentful sound to it, with the songs sounding like a way to release pent up emotions. Ones in particular, like 'Shapeshifters' and closing track 'Down On Me' suggest the anguish of a failed relationship, and the depression that follows that. The dark electronic sound permeates the album, as does the retro feeling of the 1980's, with 'Unfold On My Chest' a prime example of this classic type of sound.
'Chronic Quicksand Depression Morning' was a worthy follow up to last year's album. A dark and bitter sounding work of music that shines thanks to its addictive and catchy beats.
SCORE:
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