Title: Twists
Artist: Jim Lace and Alex Nova
Release Date: 2014 Feb 19
Genre: Dark Wave
License: CC BY-NC-ND
Label: Pan Y Rosas Discos
The twists of Jim Lace and Alex Nova are probably familiar to listeners of their former group Onyx System. After the breakup of Onyx System, Lace and Nova decided to see through the completion of some tracks they had worked on during the Onyx System time.
The result is this seven track release. It’s a very dark electronic world where Science Fiction and Fantasy are intermingled and up-ended. Tracks revolve around vocoder phrases like “mutating under the microscope” and “sacrifice children”.
But, that’s not the only subject matter of this release. There are pieces like The Chariot, about a creature who is afraid to dive into a stargate. And Worn Broom about a person that has a magical broom used to sweep evil off the planet.
Overall this release is unnerving and edgy in part, progressive in just about all ways that are possible. The sounds are jarring and grooving at the same time.
The interesting thing to me, is that this is also something of a step back in time, but kind of into an alternate reality of sorts. There are many of the influences that new wave had on the music scene of the 80’s, but like Joy Division and other bands, it’s been turned into a very dark version of those sounds. even in approach an age-old standard style, they turn it on its ear – like the track ‘new spell’, which is basically a waltz in three, it still sounds un-nervingly different with the done-like synthesizers and vocoder vocals.
The whole concept is very topsy-turvy to me. Take an old school, dark sound, revise it for this generation and turn the typical subject matter on its ear. It’s not something that I think everyone is going to like. But I think it will have a strong appeal to people who are into more underground sounds, sounds that are more edgy, and have a strong liking for open-ended interpretation of the subjects they are listening to.
And I think that’s why I like this work. It unnerves me, it makes my uneasy, and it makes me think about what I am listening to, and why I am captivated by it.
Jim Lace and Alex Nova: Twists
Free
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