Gazelle Twin
Unflesh
22 September 2014
Last Gang
4.5 stars out of 5
British composer Elizabeth Bernholz records harsh electronic
music under the name Gazelle Twin, Unflesh
being her second LP. The former medical student deals with themes of the human
body, whether as a source of pain, anxiety, or grief. Bernholz manipulates her
voice through various production effects, but these only enhance her emotive
power, never obscure it. Somewhere between Pharmakon and Crystal Castles, the
music of Unflesh is part techno, part
industrial, but post-genre in both cases in that it’s the music that is created
to serve the purpose of each unique song, rather than the songs being
constructed out of various clichés of these genres.
In her more straight-forward compositions, like “Anti Body,”
Bernholz shows a knack for using the pop song structure to build tracks that
are simultaneously catchy and attractive yet creepy and unsettling. At other
moments, such as “Premonition,” she is gentler, but still charged with fear and
anxiety, recalling the tenser moments of Hundred Waters. The closer, “Still
Life,” is a slow but relentless industrial voyage into the harrowing psychology
of a miscarriage. Bernholz doesn’t shy away from discussing the open wounds of
sorrow and anguish; indeed, her music thrives on it. One of the most vital
records of the year.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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