Picking up where they left off with their fantastic debut only last year, this exceptionally talented and persistently vigilant musical duo have continued their musical trek putting out the aptly entitled We Defy Oblivion, which comes out November 4th of this year. Proving their relevance, they manage to skip the sophomore slump we see plaguing so many artists of the path. Keeping the core consistency and sound of the previous record, while evolving both the industrial and pop elements of the release to make their unique sonic fusions of genres more cohesive, this album stands as a subtle improvement upon their previously expertly executed album.
When it comes to the actual music, the sounds are populated by thick arpeggios, dancey digital leads, and evolving and swelling pads, with the occasional guitar mixed in for added impact, with it all being smoothly mixed together in a groovy pulsing rhythm that gets neither to repetitive, nor to diverse. The sonic variations and different sections within the tracks are expertly transitioned, with the whole of the instrumentals feeling perfectly structured for the powerful vocals of their singer Leslie, making the album overall have a very fluid and consistent sound.
Vocally is where the album truly shines however. Honestly, she comes across as one of the strongest singers in the female industrial music crowd. There energy she brings to the table can make even the most monotonously arpeggiated track exceptionally entertaining. No whispered over-processed vocals here, you can clearly make out her distinctive and energetic delivery, making the empowering lyrics she's conveying all that much more impactful. And boy are these lyrics great. Now we're not talking about any Shakespeare here, but she seems to take the sort of critical and energetic commentary we see in bands like KMFDM and Nine Inch Nails, and add a whole new depth to it, all while twisting things into an almost empowering note. It's a refreshing to come out of an album that is both taking the world seriously, but simultaneously seeing the hope that we can choose to embrace and that recognizes the need for effort for us to reach a better place. So for their integrity alone this album gets 5 Infidel Stars out of 5.
And to make things all that much better. The whole album just sounds so god damn polished. All of the drums, instruments, and vocals sit perfectly in the mix of the album with every note, drum hit, and vocal melody/lyric perfectly audible. Another thing that drastically sets this band out from their contemporaries. Rarely do we hear an independent band that sounds this good, and has their music this polished. Even if you're not a fan of this type of music normally, simply because of the strength of the vocalist, and the polish of the overall sound of the record, I would honestly recommend this as a great "intro" record to harder electronic pop music. This album comes across as the perfect blend between the industrial and pop sounds that they are influenced in, and as in such I think will cross over to a wider audience because of it. And the cohesion between the elements means that they will gain more fans then alienate through the fusion, at least by my analysis of how it all comes together.
So as you may be able to tell, I highly recommend this album to anyone who enjoys female vocalists and/or electronic music in general. Cause yeah... the band really hit a home run with this. Great job Sweetest Condition, I really can't wait to hear more from you guys!
You can purchase their music on their official Bandcamp:
Watch their videos on their official YouTube: