#lakker

album covers: white

Eomac: Reconnect (Eotrax)

Ian McDonnell’s solo work as Eomac has always felt like the rough and tumble relative to his work in the duo Lakker. It's scrappier and more off the cuff feeling, all raw physicality. Whereas recent Lakker efforts have taken their time to unfold, Reconnect is immediate. Opener “Lower Your Gaze” is a pretty good signpost for what's to follow, fidgeting its way through two fast-paced minutes of programmed drumming before throwing down harder with “Ready to Die.” In its furious tempo, Reconnect draws from the shifty bass kicks of footwork, but the overall effect is something darker and noisier, almost industrial in nature. Similar could be said about “Language Has Failed Us,” which makes nods to the nervous energy of drum and bass, but its anchor is a swirl of feedback that feels more akin to Throbbing Gristle than Metalheadz.

Reconnect by Eomac

For all its fury, Reconnect is swift, clocking in at fewer than 30 minutes. This is also a strength, allowing McDonnell to treat each track as another short burst of activity, allowing it to elicit an immediate response rather than a slow drama unfolding. There are brief moments of rest in short interludes “Other People’s Fears” and “Cry of the Planet,” but even with those breathing room moments, Reconnect feels primal and immediate. It both demands and commands attention, whether in the outrage conveyed through its sputtering rhythms or the literal primal scream of McDonnell himself on “Transmutation, Redemption, Forgiveness.” Highly recommended for fans of aggressive, visceral listening.

Lakker - Shoulder to the Bat

post industrial techno?