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Venter” is clearly the album’s centerpiece, built from a stony foundation on ghostly howls, brutal drum and tumbling bells work evolving into a harrowing and dangerous beast before the curtain falls and, just as quickly as it came, the harshness escapes. First track “Flex” is a warning, its ambient backward drum fills and hums gradually rising in volume and tone as if to mimic the climb to the summit. Swirls of some heavily processed and entirely unnameable instrument growl overhead and smother the underlying but fundamental driving percussion before falling away, leaving us to slowdance alone with these heady beats for a time.By the middle of ‘Nolan’, the sonic assault is broadened to an almost frightening sense of euphoria. And after that slight disappointment experienced by all avid listeners that comes with a significant change of tone; if not of style, it’s easy to see the two records as near companion pieces.

It’s that sort of industrial album, unlike the catchy metal of say, Ministry or Nine Inch Nails; Aurora actually feels like it was made in a menacing factory with Frost overseeing his mad production. The resulting atmosphere is dense and airless, with real-world signifiers largely absent – although the insect-like whine on ‘Sola Fide’ and a groan-like wind raising dust on ‘Diphenyl Oxalate’ hint at the surrounding environment. In this mode, he fits in line with producers like Container, Sandwell District, Demdike Stare, and Vatican Shadow, but he never stays in one place, and the album is filled with variety and a great sense of dynamics. Top Tags Steven Soderbergh nicolas cage Bob Dylan jonathan demme David Bowie animal collective monthly mixtape criminally Martin Scorsese spike lee R.But “Nolan” is where the violent reaction takes place, all distortion and abrasive frequencies, bass drums thumping and bells clanging just beneath the surface. Much of Aurora was composed while Frost was in the Democratic Republic of Congo, collaborating on a film reflecting the region’s notorious violence. Please note that computer monitors are not all calibrated equally and colours may appear different from one display to another.