Published by Davide Pappalardo on October 28, 2018
The Swedish project Alvar is one of the most interesting realities in the modern field of experimental EBM/electro-industrial music. Born as a duo composed of married couple Johanna Backman and Jonas Fredriksson, they released three cassettes (Deceivers for Beläten, Resurrection Of The Sinner for Alvaret Tape Rekordings and I Cut Out All The Stars sold only at the Kalabalik På Tyrolen Festival), a digital album called Gold ritual II and a Cdr promo, and a debut album for Daft Records called Guilt Kollektion.
Recently, they added two important members to their formation – Jimmy Svensson (known as noise/drone artist Yabibo Hazurfa) and Fredrik Djurfeldt of Boar Alarm and Severe Illusion – enriching both their live performances and their sound, already influenced by rhythmic noise, the rawest kind of techno-industrial, gritty EBM, especially the Belgian school, and the more ritualistic side of industrial music.
After the release of the limited 6-track cassette Mutiny For You (Cloister Recordings US, 2017), they now return with their sophomore album I Sew A Blanket Of All The Broken Clouds, showing to the world their ongoing musical evolution. Here you will find a redefined sound which does not sacrifice the grittiest aspects of their music, instead strengthening the impact of their “mutant approach”. Noisescapes, pulsating bass-lines, robust rhythms, sharp effects and manipulated vocals guide us amidst an obsessive and ominous atmosphere.
If Steelwerks welcomes us with its grim ambiences and synthetic distortions, evolving into a tribal rhythmic pattern during its course and adding old-school droning drums, evocative trumpets, and caustic vocals, The fluid conquers us thanks to its robotic structure employing electro-industrial motifs and broken rhythms, evoking the best of the past, but with a modern take.
Horsemen is a gritty affair with sharp industrial soundscapes and obsessive lines, a love letter to Dive and the darker side of old-school EBM with rhythmic-noise influences, and Another gate recalls minimal wave and Absolute Body Control with its crawling movement, in a crescendo layered down by the means of looping sounds and rhythms.
Contact uses an electronic riff upon which syncopated rhythmic patterns are displayed, once again recalling old motifs used with taste and measure. As the track goes faster, Johanna adds her combative vocals, completing the track. Error turns is a charming affair with techno influences and robotic movements, a looping soundcape among which malevolent vocals build a captivating refrain.
Sluten is a discordant episode with ominous atmospheres and noise-tinged sounds, a creepy moment with lyrics in Swedish and sparse hard rhythms, a more experimental and evocative moment. Reduced to an end follows suit with its initial noisescapes, but then it evolves into an electro number with a growing tension ready to explode into a cadenced track with factory-like sounds.
The very witching time of night is a new version of a track from the compilation Not So Cold, here becoming a pulsating minimalwave affair with fast rhythms and hypnotizing female vocals. It descends into spiraling compulsions and EBM bass-lines, giving us an enthralling rendition. Cancer employs abrasive sounds and techno-industrial rhythms akin to Ancient Methods, without losing the harsher side of Alvar’s sound, but displaying captivating key melodies too.
Touch (call out my name) returns to minimal structures and obsessive, droning sounds, once again making us think of The Klinik. Diaphanous sounds and modern techno elements conjure something new and impossible to resist. The last track Slow death ends the work with its abrasive noisescapes, soon interspersed with sudden synths and old-school drum machines. Whipping beats and robust bass sounds prepare a mantra layered down for the effected vocals and sampled elements.
Alvar show us a personal sound in which many different influences meet in a coherent, yet adventurous, style with an unmistakable identity. Their world is full of grimness and grit, but it doesn’t mean they don’t know how to seduce the listener with subtle atmospheres and synth-based motifs. Noise, techno, EBM, electro-industrial are mixed into something modern, delivering a great work. If you love industrial music without boundaries, you should own this album.
Label: Daft Records
Rating: 9