At The Joinery

Another post I've been holding onto for a while here. Let me tell you a little tale about me and synthwave. I was obviously well one that Kavinsky train since day one, I did see some people start making similar stuff that didn't have the electro lean of Kavinsky's stuff, but didn't really keep up with it aside from the occasional Lazerhawk or Perturbator. And that was fine, it got me by for a while and I was content. Flash back to two years ago when I first lay ears on Carpenter Brut...

My first exposure came in the form of the violently explosive Roller Mobster through Hotline Miami 2. This wasn't the plinky 'outrun' style of synthwave I'd seen around the 'net before, and it went hand in had with the neon drenched fast-paced violence that is the Hotline Miami experience. It does take on more retro style elements later on mind, taking a funky turn on a breakdown around the 2 minute 20 mark.



And I apologise for what may be the 4th time I've posted Roller Mobster, but it was important to lay the background (honest!). Anyway, one of the reasons I was drawn into Carpenter Brut in the first place is how different his overall aesthetic was. Most Synthwave I'd seen was all sci-fi, old 80's anime and retro-futurism (not that there's anything wrong with those but it was quite played out). Brut on the other hand is all about low budget 80's horror schtick, so expect lots of slightly occult imagery like goat skulls and the like, alongside some slightly seedy titles like Le Perv.



The closing song to the Hotline Miami 2 LP and a slightly different beast next. No pun intended there, but it is originally from the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, which did feature some beasties and a strong Lovecraft streak. Clocking in at 6 minutes long, Escape... does take a little while to get going, but it's a solid listen all the way through and it all makes the eventual payoff at 5:20 all that more sweeter.



-Claude Van Foxbat