Attrition – The Black Maria (Two Gods) – Haven’t encountered Attrition for an age and a half, probably at one of those finely engineered Nemesis gigs back there (or maybe even on an Organ bill? I can’t remember which gigs we were just at and which ones we put on now, they’ve all meshed together on one big web of gigs and burnt bridges) Attrition’s first album for something like eight years, they’re sounding impressively good, they always did have something a little extra, a bit of rich colour flowing through those dark meshes…
The Black Maria: a menacing 19th Century figure who would come to take away our outcasts and miscreants…and later used as the slang term for those slightly sinister black police vans – “the Black Maria is coming to get you” as my old Irish granny would often say. Attrition are sounding rich, they’re sounding lush, as dark as ever – be quiet, be submissive, listen…
“Founded in 1980 and still helmed by band mainstay Martin Bowes, Attrition have been based in the English Midlands town of Coventry for most of their existence. An integral part of what soon became a flourishing UK and worldwide underground (post-) industrial electronic scene, they played early shows with other iconic acts such as Coil, The Legendary Pink Dots, Test Dept. and In the Nursery, releasing music through a who’s who of international underground labels: Third Mind, Projekt, Antler, Contempo, Hyperium, Invisible… and now Two Gods. All the while, the group have continued to evolve, create, record and tour”.
It would be easy for them to just make another Attrition record and in many ways that is just what they have done, in the most positive of ways though and they never ever do just make another Attrition record do they? This one flows wonderfully, this is rich in warm electronic darkness, it invites, entwines, it does pull you in, and yes it is a goth thing, nothing wrong with a goth thing when it weaves and shifts in the stylish way this does.
Black Maria flows, it effortlessly switches between that gothic/industrial forward movement, that neo-classical adventure and those quieter dark ambient soundscapes. Lyrically interesting as well, hints of things without ever being too obvious – slices of life, love, longing, loss and death, the politics of manipulation – both personal and state, sometimes melancholic, occasionally sinister, on the edge, a touch of anarchy running through the defiance of it all, always warm, an occasional pretty white lie and good enough to allow us to namedrop Webcore (that is high praise from us, we consider Webcore one of the finest bands ever)
Teaming up with baroque female vocalists Emèse Árvai-Illes (from Black Nail Cabaret), Elisa Day (Hetaira Decrépita), Yvette (Vaselyne) and Alia Miroshichenko (Subterranea) has proved to be a positive move, the voices lending something more than the just perfect alibi and the burning of bridges. And then there’s the return of his original vocal foil Julia (aka Chryss) after a two decade absence that maybe is they key to it all? Is this the finest of Attrition’s albums? It could well be, it certainly is up there. Those voices are commanding, quietly demanding, be silent, those textures are lush, lust in peace you might say. Yep, Attrition are sounding good, they always have, they’re sounding warm, classically inviting, goth in the best of ways, they just might be sounding better than ever, those bits of violin are delicious, actually the wohle thing is, The Black Maria is delicious.
“The Black Maria was produced by Bowes at the Cage Studios in Coventry and includes remixed/remastered versions of previously released singles ‘The Great Derailer’ and ‘The Alibi’, as well as a reworking of ‘The Voice of Truth’, which was originally commissioned for the City Of Culture bestowed on Coventry in 2021 and an honour that reflected Bowes’ lifetime of involvement in the music scene of his home city. The album also features guest appearances from Anni Hogan (Marc and the Mambas, etc) on grand piano, Vancorvid and Marietta Fox on violin, Ian Arkley (My Silent Wake) on guitar, Steve Clarke (Futumche) on additional guitar/bass, plus Kris Force on cello”.
THE ORGAN 