ALBUM REVIEW: Lustful Sacraments – Perturbator
PERTURBATOR has always been something of an enigma. When it comes to writing dark synth records, he is quickly becoming Major League, but there has always been much more to his collective sound than the synthwave tag that seems glued to his forehead. Synthwave in itself is not a moniker that should bring shame by association (just ask bands like THE MIDNIGHT and GUNSHIP and you’ll learn that it is a genre garnering popularity at breakneck speed) but that has never been enough for PERTURBATOR, who has always been one to sneer at moulds, instead opting to slowly tear up the rulebook with a devilish grin.
The latest step in his musical evolution is Lustful Sacraments, a rhythmic Rubik’s Cube that seems to constantly change tact and appearance. The intention is to well and truly shatter preconceptions, as well as acting as something of a coming-of-age moment in PERTURBATOR‘s lifespan. Ironically, the introductory track Reaching Xanadu threatens to discredit all of that. It’s a very down-the-middle synth driven intro, but it doesn’t take long for the eyebrows to start raising.
The title track is the first to give us a taste of the new direction, and it’s nothing if not a slab of 1980’s goth rock. The synths are still there, but there is much more focus on mood, as the song thuds and broods along. Think eyeliner and netted sleeves meets modern electronic precision and you’re somewhere close. Thundering drums are a prominent feature, as they are in the next track, Excess. However, hooks start to become more prominent here, and it’s hard not to be reminded of HUNDREDTH‘s Rare, an album that also delves deep into emotive guitar hooks and cathartic rhythm.
Emogaze probably isn’t a real word, but it sums up quite nicely what’s going on here. As we pass into Secret Devotion and Death Of The Soul, there is a lovely blend of shoegaze noise set tastefully against a more gothic, post-industrial approach à la NINE INCH NAILS. Influences and similarities seem to jump from every corner, which is generally an indicator that an album is hard to shoehorn. This brings us back to that earlier point; that’s exactly as PERTURBATOR intended it. This album won’t be for everyone, it will divide and spark debate, but it is brave, and for the most part, a success.
The Other Place and Dethroned Under A Funeral Haze offer an interesting juxtaposition. The former is possibly the closest thing to a synthwave track on the album, whereas the latter is much darker, choosing to focus on longer, cinematic passages that drip with ambience, in contrast to the more upbeat, dancier moments the album also has to offer. The same can be said of the album closers, Messalina, Messalina and God Says.
It’s hard to say how Lustful Sacraments will be received. In many ways, it is PERTURBATOR‘s most concise and prolific work to date, but the general mood of the album will be difficult for some to take on-board. It is as nostalgic as it is progressive; a hard thing to achieve, but one that will challenge and test the resilience of anyone willing to give it a go.
Rating: 8/10
Lustful Sacraments is out now via Blood Music.
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