CD, Two Gods/Wax Trax II, 2009
www.attrition.co.uk
This is a compilation displaying Attrition’s influence on the genres of darkwave, electronica and more. It is a well rounded compilation featuring artists from various genres including such artists as Chiasm, Unwoman, and more.
“Wrapped In The Guise Of My Friend (Covered Attrition)” starts a little slow with the electro ambient rendition of “Favourite Things” by Nyarlathotep but quickly kicks up the tempo with the guitar-driven “Which Hand?” by Murder Happes and En Esch. Imprint’s version of “Reflections” drops the ball momentarily but is quickly forgotten as Chiasm delivers a beautiful rolling harpsichord amongst sinister glitch beats on “A Girl Called Harmony”. Stromkern delivers a catchy, piano-laced and well-produced tribute to “The Cage” with vocals coursing in and out of the melody with perfect precision while My Silent Wake delivers a very minimalist, eerie atmospheric “Two Gods” that is precisely what any fan would want for this incredible song. High Blue Start provide a elegant balance between soulful vocals and jazz influenced drums that gets your feet tapping on “I am Eternity”. Machine in the Garden perform a slinking atmosphere, tinted with subtle piano, and deliver bittersweet vocal harmonies on “Dreamsleep” that had me playing this song on repeat. FluxuSyndrom fall short of the mark with the loop redundancy of “A Great Design” which seems to place all the elements of the song in conflict with one another – while I admit that it caught my ear, it failed to win me over – and it is followed by a sloppy experimental jazz influenced version of “The Second Hand” by Elephant Leaf. The redemption came with the sullen and sinister “Fusillade” cover by Remora while “Kharb” by Terrorimo sadly becomes a dull drum circle, lacking any real distinction. Unwoman revives the listener with “Adam and Eva”, delivering longing strings and a vocal rhythm that sways the listener in a gritty waltz and Accolade keep pace with soaring vocals on “The Silent Mind” with Patricia Wake producing a beautiful melancholic “Fate is Smiling” that will have you coming back for more and more. Protea falls short of the mark with “Into the Waves” and is quickly forgotten as Stoa serve up an instrumental version of “A Girl Called Harmony”. Stoa’s delivery is awesome intensity and cinematic, it brings the listener to an epic close of the album. Highlights for this release include “Which Hand?” by Murder Happes and En Esch, “Adam and Eva” by Unwoman, “Fate is Smiling” by Patricia Wake,”A Girl Called Harmony” by Stoa,”The Cage” by Stromkern, and “Favourite Things” by Nyarlathotep.
The only downfalls of this release seems to be the variant levels of sound quality between the compiled songs (some of the poorer additions sound muffled or with lower levels) and the few moments of uninspired, unimaginative covers. As a whole, this compilation delivered a majority of incredible covers while a few served to contrast, but the good far outweighed the bad. It will be a treat for any die-hard Attrition fan and for any new listener will serve as a starting point for listening to this incredible project.
[7.5/10]
— James Church