1. NEGATIVE x ONE
2. SHADOW x OF x YOU
3. DEAD x ON x THE x DANCE x FLOOR
4. SIGNAL x ZERO
5. BELLS x OF x PARADISE
6. MY x SCREAMING x SOUL
7. PREMONITION
8. IMMOLATION x ETERNAL
9. BURNING x CHURCH
DL:
https://ek4t3.bandcamp.com/album/citvdel-blvck-abject
Support the artist directly / buy:
https://citvdelblvck.bandcamp.com/album/a-b-j-e-c-t
Latest album from Citvdel Blvck on EK4T3. Tbh I've seen his name around, but never explored his music properly. Really pleasant discovery, "Abject" is a diverse take on witch house, drawing from various sources and sub-genres, all soaked in a layer of lo-fi compression (whether intentional or not - I like it).
The opening "Negative one" feels like it missed the deadline for our Stranger Things' "The Other Side" compilation, or alternatively could do well scoring the "Prometheus" movie. Slow, brooding synths and beats reminiscent of MSV's creepiness are paired with a layer of freestyle percussion, giving the track an uneasy vibe. The following "Shadow of You" drifts more towards Holy Other sonic territories, but mixed with trap beats, and sporadically sprinkled with Burial-esque vocal samples. "Dead on the dance floor" pays hommage to the rave days, fans of CRIM3S, Mascara or Russian wave of WH will love this. It's probably my fav production on this LP. "Signal zero" follows this danceroom path even further, with it's wave/EDM crossover. The next coupe of tracks are just good, and didn't excite me as much as the first half of the album. "Bells of paradise" takes a page from ERA book, with monk chants interwined between rolls of hi-hats and melodic syths. "My screaming soul" is an interestingly arranged triptych, consisting of droney and noisy intro, that morphs into trap-heavy abstract instrumental, before it finally evolves into a full-blown head-nodding composition. Not gonna lie, I like experiments like that. "Premonition" is probably the most hip-hop sounding beat, great atmosphere and arrangements throughout, made me think of SAIN't. It is then quite naturally followed by "Immolation eternal", that simply bangs. With the closing track "Burning church" CB comes full circle, with its cinematic synths and choir juxtaposed with fast hitting beats and squishy keys.
Overall the album could be a bit shorter (I'd probably take the "Bells of paradise" out and trim the length of some tracks), but it's still a really solid LP that provides lots of listening pleasure via its experimentation and mixed bag of influences.