Wetware - Automatic Drawing

Ah, Wetware. They're a Brooklyn based Industrial Electronic duo, says so right on the cover. They're also VST plugin preset enthusiasts, or so my ears tell me. Pantomime sure sounds a lot like a thing i published a long time ago. But anywho, i was very confused when i repeatedly saw them labeled Avant-Jazz. I don't even know how to begin to refute that, i'd have to invent things for this to not sound like at all. 

As for the "for fans of..." thing, i don't really put much stock in it. You could love Throbbing Gristle and still think this is mindless jibber jabber. You could love the bizarre direction Graeme went after most anyone associated with SPK left and/or died. I'm not familiar with Liasons Dangereuses. This does have a Throbbing Gristle quality to it, but it doesn't quite capture the grotesqueness the way i'd like. It's suitably grating and obsessive-compulsive though, so that's good. Actually, i think it's the fact that this is approachable Industrial that throws me for a loop. It's almost too well composed to really be "automatic drawing." 

If you're not familiar with that term, it means drawing without exerting conscious control over what you're drawing. Subconscious creativity or something, most people would take a brief glance and say "congratulations, you've scribbled on a piece of paper." However, we aren't here to debate the equivalent nonsensical nature of automatic drawing and photorealism, from a certain perspective they're both kind of silly, we're here to enjoy running our brains through the meat grinder and relish the feeling of being totally confused about why this experience is remarkably pleasurable for me. I don't know, maybe it's simply the juxtaposition of goofing off in an abandoned iron foundry, or going on a camping trip to Chernobyl, or wandering around Midland City after the neutron bomb. 

I can tell you this, Roxy sounds completely deranged and not at all like she's having a good time. Even the sounds that sound like sex is happening to her do not convey even the slightest indication of enjoyment. It's probably totally wrong to assume that she and Matthew are a couple, and i'm sure if they are it's not against either of their respective wills, but album wise it's a fair bit repulsive. 

I don't think it unfair to say that she's clearly trying to sound like Genesis P Orridge, mostly because why wouldn't that be allowable? Intentionally trying to sound like a Throbbing Gristle clone is just about quintessentially Industrial the same way Satan riding a motorcycle is Metal, or taking a dump on your neighbor's lawn is about as Pop Punk as it gets. As i've said in other contexts, i personally am not going to confuse the two, this sounds extremely more meticulously constructed to be enjoyably listenable than anything from the 70s or 80s. It's a bit Industrial light, without a fair bit of the original magic. Don't confuse that for me not thoroughly enjoying it, by the way, it's a description not a criticism and i assume that's what they want me to hear. 

As for anyone else, maybe think of this as the Kix of Industrial. It's kid tested, Bottle approved, totally acceptable breakfast cereal. If you aren't ready for the full Jimmy Dean microwaved sausage egg and cheese biscuit at 5:15AM like i have to scarf down to make it all the way to my 11:35 gas station lunch appointment, i totally understand and this will at least get you off to a running start before the corporate zombies start lurching after you.