Modecenter is a quartet hailing from Vienna, Austria, which has been around since
2018/2019 and features members of
Goldsoundz,
Master Gottlieb
and
23 Söhn.
Most of the time I try to go through the whole band discography in my reviews but for Modecenter, as there was only one tape (Mode
für jung und alt, Fashion for the young and old, recorded in 2019) released prior to their
first full length and as I'm not convinced by its quality compared to the
LP, I will focus on the LP only.
To be honest I only discovered Modecenter very recently
(thanks to the always great
Perte & Fracas, cheers mate!), indeed their LP got out in July on
Numavi Records, one of the most active label from Vienna which has also released a few
albums from
Melt Downer, another great noise-rock band from the capital of Austria). But better
late than never I guess so here is the occasion to catch up on this great
record.
First I have to say that I was really impressed by this record, it's a
proper full length, a dense record including ten well-written songs which
take from various influences and, despite a couple of unnecessary tracks,
it's absolutely killer.
Modecenter ventures into a few different genres, into the Fugazi era of post-hardcore
with Chain Boys (that can't not recall the vocals of
Guy Picciotto's band) and into the "indie side" of modern post-punk
with Hot Body, but where the quartet is definitely at its best,
where all the energy and the "genius" of the band can really burst out in
the open, it's clearly in those good old bass-driven noise-rock tracks reminiscent of classics like Big Black.
The heavy and obsessive bass lines support an extremely tense song
structure which gives all the necessary room to vocals to exude anger and
frustration. I'm talking about songs like Deceit,
I Am Straight or the heavy, but airy, OK Computer but most
of all I'm talking about Stylo, the masterpiece of the album...
Lead by a "perfect" obsessive noise-rock bassline, the hallucinated
vocals scream all the insanity, all the fear of being completely lost in
an environment dragged into an uncontrolled run forward a not so distant
wall, whereas some stressful synth layers keep the situation as tense as
it could possibly get... I love that kind of song! Grease is built the same way but the
vocals got a more desperate tone that takes us closer to
Chain Boys, the track being mostly instrumental anyway it doesn't
change the "vibe" much.
So everything could be just perfect right ? Unfortunately I have to put a
small downside, a few tracks tend to break the energy of the record and
it's a real shame, I think of the never-ending 187 (a "very"
instrumental track of 6 minutes and a half) which starts very well and
then gets lost in something a bit boring after two minutes (ok it ends the
side A of the vinyl version but it's right in the middle of the digital
album!) or of Mode B, a totally unnecessary "surfish" instrumental
track and most of all of Mind Eraser, the final track, an awful
radio rock (dream pop?) ballad which ruins an ending that could have been
brilliant with the super good I Am Straight.
But I don't want to end on a negative note, so don't get me wrong, Modecenter's album contains some of the best noise-rock songs I've heard this year, tracks that totally kick ass and for that alone, you have to give it a go!
Personally, I ordered the vinyl for Christmas!
N,J'Oi!
N,J'Oi!
N,J'Oi!
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