Brooklyn-based electronic duo
Wetware make fractured, anxiety-riddled music that seems to confront the very idea of dance music itself. Vocalist and performance artist Roxy Farman stammers and convulses, lunging into the crowd during live performances and sounding on the verge of a nervous breakdown on the duo's recordings. Behind her, modular synth artist
Matt Morandi matches Farman with a torrent of jagged electronic noises, which sound simultaneously liquid (befitting the duo's moniker) and like crashing shards of broken metal objects.
Morandi is also known for his work as part of
Ron Morelli's
L.I.E.S. stable, producing outsider house as half of the duo Inhalants as well as more cinematic electronics under his solo alias
Jahiliyya Fields. His work as half of
Wetware is some of his most bleak, challenging music, and it's made all the more abrasive due to the inescapable presence of Farman. On "Hand Over Mouth,"
Morandi's electronic backdrop shifts from sporadic, raindrop-like dripping to a hobbling, jumbled rhythm, while Farman mutters in a detached, monotone voice. Other tracks have rhythms that are closer to being danceable, but they certainly aren't more accessible or inviting. Standout "Likewise," for example, features swirling layers of noise that occasionally ebb into harsh bursts, along with a beat that sounds like it's struggling to maintain a steady 4/4 kick. On top of all this is Farman's furious, commanding poetry, which seemingly comes close to spitting in the listener's face. "Except All Presents" and "Where Ever You Were" sound even more unsteady; on the latter, Farman repeatedly asks "Do you act like everyone else, even those you despise?," with her voice frequently peaking into the red. She sounds even more unstable on "Frequent Dreamlands," and it seems like there's no other way for this album to end than an abrupt, dead stop.
Automatic Drawing seems about as bracing as the duo can get on record, and it's a brilliant showcase for their inventive, challenging style.