Reviews

Machiavellian Art Indoctrination Sounds LP

From the midriff of England, MACHIAVELLIAN ART resembles FLIPPER and TODD trapped in outer space, with their faces rapidly purpling and someone’s voice box changing so he sounds like he’s fronting some HOAX kinda mysterious hardcore band. Must be tons of reverb up there too, because you can’t make out much of what Benjamin Thomas is hollering about, but you hear most of it several times over. Indoctrination Sounds, arriving nearly four years after the band’s sole previous release (a six-song tape, which you get with the digital version of this LP), is nasty noise rock with sax and freeform jam segments, but also—because you may have heard music which answers to that description before—a stamp of individuality. Goth basslines and black metal guitar tones lurk, then reach out to grab your ankle, and the title track almost ends up in RIGOROUS INSTITUTION territory. There’s some SNOB and VILE SECT folks in the band, and I have no idea if that’ll push you into investigating (though it should) or makes for especially helpful sonic pointers, but whatever leads you to this release is good by me.