Album Review: black midi - Schlagenheim
Rarely do bands seem to burst onto the scene already fully formed, but the eccentric and experimental noise rock that black midi call home is not a very forgiving genre. Had the UK-based group loaded their debut album with music that was too unconventional, they likely would not have been tolerated by even the most exploratory listeners; playing it too safe, on the other hand, would have made it difficult to garner interest from those already accustomed to such an abrasive style. That Schlagenheim has found itself in such a sweet spot as to garner a great deal of instant praise is noteworthy, certainly, and yet as a complete project it cannot help but feel somewhat lacking. At times too unorthodox and at others too uninteresting, what appeal the album has can mostly be attributed to the stellar performances and occasionally interesting concepts within, and that there is still plenty of room for refinement is evident.
As soon as the opener 953 begins in earnest, it becomes clear that the band's love of offbeat guitar screeching and endless repetition form a gut-wrenching combo which sucks out much of the enjoyment their skillful playing could potentially provide. The song's melodies are blaring, offbeat, and thoroughly onerous to listen to, as if it were trying to give the listener a migraine while they attempt to parse what exactly is going on. The verses do provide some welcome counterbalance as singer Geordie Greep pleads "Please stop all of this/Strange fantasy/This is not who you are/Not who you want to be" over a slower, plucked guitar line, yet too soon the arbitrary shredding returns with a vengeance. Luckily, the eight other songs which make up the record do help to demonstrate the group's instrumental range, and sprinkled within are tracks (or segments of tracks) which provide groovier, more interesting reprieves from the worst of black midi's experimentation.
The laid-back Speedway and the frenetic Reggae are two early examples, even if the vocals on the former cut are arguably the blandest on the whole album. Both tracks feature slicker, more subtle guitar playing and creative (if succinct) lyricism, with Reggae in particular gifted with an eerie sense of urgency straight out of the post-punk playbook. Despite an odd talent for emotive writing that lets many songs here personify Greep's more abstract feelings and musings, Near DT, MI demonstrates awkwardly the shortcomings of such an aberrant style. Ostensibly about the water crisis plaguing Flint, Michigan, that its lyrics cannot stretch much further than "There's lead in the water and you think that I'm fine" is frustrating, and any deeper analysis of the issue or the factors which lead to it is painfully absent. Instead the band is preoccupied with churning out yet another displeasing racket in place of a cohesive song, and their message suffers greatly for it.
bmbmbm is perhaps the best example of abnormality employed beneficially on here, Greep's repeated intonation of "It is such a purpose" giving the track a demented yet focused energy. The slow increase of volume and stress, the simple and mindless guitar lick, the cacophonous breakdown at the end of it all; it's easy to hear the most powerful moments of Swans' To Be Kind in the track's disturbed aura. Meanwhile, Of Schlagenheim is somewhat of a mixed bag: some of its instrumental passages are catchy and compelling, some only serve to frivolously compete with Greep's tiresome shrieking. Ultimately it feels incomplete, a constant buildup towards a climax that meanders and digresses without ever actually resolving its tension. Interestingly, the eight-minute odyssey Western which comes right before it maintains one's interest much more effectively, perhaps due to the relaxed pacing, intricate riffs, and Greep opting for a delicate crooning in lieu of his usual eccentrics: "And I'll helm the seas of a burgeoning scene as the new-come queen/While you lick your wounds in a hole that's black perpetually".
Amidst the short biography provided on black midi's Spotify page, they list artists like Miles Davis, Talking Heads, and Death Grips among their influences, one of few available clues as to how the band arrived at their current sound. All three are unabashedly inventive artists who made their names defying the genre conventions which restrained their peers, and taking it upon themselves to look further and create something entirely new. Schlagenheim is very consciously an attempt to follow in their footsteps, but in the process devolves too often into pointless experimentation, a need to sound different and unfamiliar that sacrifices one's ability to enjoy the music. As creative and amusing as the record can occasionally be, it is difficult to imagine it having the same sort of impact as Bitches Brew or Remain in Light or The Money Store, and thus its legacy being one of a haphazard collection of half-formed ideas is inevitable.
6.5/10
Favourite Tracks: Reggae, bmbmbm, Ducter
https://open.spotify.com/album/14LuwckQuyWIvVlKrYuLzP