Kling Klang Bedlam

Like their fellow Texans Mentallo & the Fixer, Fektion Fekler turn out dense, multilayered industrial dance songs aimed more for the headphones than the dance floor. (They also share a curious concept of what makes a decent band name, but that's another story.) Fektion's debut, 1996's From Here to Heaven, showed brothers Robert and John Bustamante to be capable musicians and engineers, but the album, while strong, was a bit too much like Mentallo. Kling Klang Bedlam sees them taking a few more chances; it's definitely still industrial, but the undistorted vocals and lighter, more playful mixes are liable to throw some for a loop. To what degree you like this disc depends largely on how you react to the unadorned voice credited to someone known only as the "Womb Dabbler." As it turns out, we soon hear the reason for the anonymity: his irritatingly whiny vocals threaten to distract from the often engaging array of melodic synth and rhythm patterns in the background. Musically, however, there are several highlights, including "Dehabilitated," with its swirling effects and complex beat pattern, and "Reverb Deficiency," a short instrumental piece that makes good use of sampled strings and tinkly keyboards. Still, for Womb, the bell tolls. --Steve Landau

Label: Unknown
Studio: Pendragon
Released: 1998-11-10
Format: Audio CD

Extras/Features:
Import