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The Peoples Republic Of Europe - Feel The Power


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The harsh alienating sounds of cacophonous doomcore method are perhaps too polarizing to appeal to broader industrial demographic but The Peoples Republic Of Europe for some time now has been confidently walking the fine line between nihilistic instrumentations and playful genre crossovers - an ability that elevated them beyond the aimless herd of noise artists, struggling to discern purpose and meaning in the constant onslaught of raw, gritty music. Feel The Power marks yet another subtle turn in the way that the trio of Krat, Puck and Statik expresses their risky sense of humour and the need to dominate the hardcore audience.

The insertion into the violent order of Feel The Power, even for the uninitiated listener will be pain free and immediate. The sample heavy prelude 'Asylum' sets the intellectual and political tone of the record and like a dark ambient newsreel warns about the power hungry, controlling identities that shape the contemporary reality- the reality of The Peoples Republic Of Europe's latest album where brutality and oppression crash with the uncontrollable urge to twitch, move and dance.
From low key buzz of the first moments of 'After Dark' experience gradually gains momentum with drums intensifying with every passing minute. While the humming, swaying backgrounds never really disappear tracks confidently grow more and more aggressive. 'Feel The Power' allows the rigid precision of a stomping beat to dominate its flow and the sound seems to permanently settle in this delicate balance, with tempo dictated by constant assault of sonic aggression.
With 'Mototrik', 'King Of The Flies' and 'Warrior' The Peoples Republic Of Europe passionately continue in the same vein. The music retains its cacophonous appeal but the energy slowly fazes out, the drum machines exhaust their energy in a robotic routine that turns tedious before the listener capitulates. Instead of being forced into surrender by the power and the commitment of the band, audiences might simply grow tired of arrangements that blend into undistinguishable monolith of beats and noise.
Nourishing as this cocktail may be when consumed on the dance-floor, domestic listen reveals the static nature of Feel The Power. This lack of progression, that on 'The Eye' faintly signals not only the end of the album but also its bland structure, detracts from the simple pleasures of the prolonged exposure to piercing industrial rhythm.

It's difficult to asses which uncharted waters The Peoples Republic Of Europe will set to conquer next. Each release from the Utrecht's hardcore virtuosos is distinctly influenced by their own sensibilities but flavoured in an unpredictable, exciting way. Feel The Power might not be their definitive work but the ambient ingredient grants it accessibility and character that should hook the newcomers and satisfy the doomcore nuts. It might be tainted by the repetitious nature of the music but, spoiled it is not.

Track list:

01. Asylum
02. After Dark
03. Feel The Power
04. Motorik
05. King Of The Flies
06. Warrior
07. Energy
08. Techna Zina
09. Proximity
10. The Eye
Author:
Translator: harpia
Add date: 2014-01-05 / Music reviews




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