As one-fourth of the rabble-rousing
Atari Teenage Riot,
Nic Endo has learned more than her fair share about the politics and pleasures of an all-out sonic assault. On her solo debut, however, Germany's
Endo keeps eardrums intact as she creates a more subtly sinister electronic soundscape than her more famous noise punk outfit. The aptly titled
Cold Metal Perfection feels distant, cold, and detached -- which doesn't mean it's uninspired, exactly -- as
Endo sounds like she's scoring a low-budget horror film with a minimalist mix of metallic beats, noise, synths, and the occasional vocal sample. And while several songs lack a clear focus, the album has truly compelling moments, as on "Man-Eater" and "I Didn't Exist," which chillingly samples a woman confessing that she has "no desire for the close company of other people." It's the closest the album comes to making the sort of blatant social and political statement that's often associated with members of ATR (see:
Hanin Elias' grueling and brilliant In Flames), however, and so
Cold Metal Perfection doesn't exactly sound like the revolution fans may expect.