Girlflesh - Almost Human

You know, it sometimes absolutely astonishes me when practically a no-name act can come out of the blue and completely and utterly shock me with their material. In comparison to acts that have been around for a few years - or even decades - you would think that they wouldn't even be able to hit a mark close to what the greats are able to crank out. But, time after time, it's been proven that the big names aren't necessarily able to power out hit after hit. And therefore, there comes a time when new names need to emerge; a time when attention needs to shift from the forefront and possibly more to some smaller acts that don't have that much attention to them. That is exactly how I feel when it comes to Girlflesh.

Girlflesh is an Australian act that focuses on down-tempo dark electro vibes that I was raving about just a few weeks ago. After I discovered her debut album Nudes, and subsequently gave her an interview in the same bout of astonishment, the musician revealed that her next album would be coming out shortly. With my excitement peaked, I am now proud to present to you her next album Almost Human.

Nine tracks spanning around a half hour of sordid melodies and depressing but attention grabbing sounds break through to the senses. The album art sort of follows pattern with the previous album; while last time the stomach and ribcage of a person was shown, this album art shows off the provocative chest area of possibly the same human. Don't get all too worked up, though; there are no nudes to be found here. Anyway, onto the music.

Almost Human emerges as an outstanding follow up to Nudes. It both shows a mature development in sound and a better knowledge for electronic production. From the get go with I Want to Believe, that sophistication is shown through an immediate hooking and disturbed vocal echo alongside a slow beat. The song is short enough to hold your attention and ends at a perfect time as it leaves you wanting more.

Sad Birthday once again shows off Girlflesh's vocal dominance; she doesn't shout in the microphone, nor does she give way to great melody, but this more or less spoken word song follows a very depressed sounding character describing what exactly made her birthday so sad. I could picture a person holding a bottle of booze, pills next to them, about to commit suicide while listening to this song. Not the best image, but I did not care. I loved it.

And then we come along to the first odd titled song called Queen of the Cheeseburgers. Some may laugh at this, but with nods to glitch and a line that goes, "I hate my life," followed by weak hearted "Lalalala"-ing (the kind that someone who is clinically morose would chime through trying to make themselves happier), you will definitely find yourself more or less repulsed than joyful. Again, the terror that is inspired from her music is a major attraction when moving through each song.

With Boys, digital effects touch her voice but the delivery is slightly altered to differ from previous tracks. That song precedes another odd titled track called I'm a Whore for the Fourth Reich. This track, with its low-fi sounds and lower pitched electronics definitely sounds like something out of an old 80s horror film. It even takes influence from power electronics, and adds in drum'n'bass a little after the two minute mark, refreshing the music and giving it life once more. Never say that Girlflesh is one to make a song boring.

Anyway, after the raucous that was found in the previous song, it was back to a much slower pace ordeal with The Curse. Each noise that comes out from the darkness slowly crawls upon you, taking their time to get to know you and infiltrate the song. Next came along the track simply annotated with a ▲. Drum work comes forth, sounding slightly tribal, but, again, it breathes life into the album.

Pulmonary Carcinoma (otherwise known as lung cancer) kept forth with a very minimal beat at first, but again more sounds were added throughout the span of the song. A bit of a heartbeat like sound holds our hand on the way out, and then we're moved onto the final song Vodsel. Simply another spoken word song that intersperses the beat with the vocals right after a brief pause, it was timing at its best.

If there would be any one word I would use to describe this album, I think it would be "horror".The way Girlflesh is so easily able to craft these works that just reminisce such hopeless and drastic situations is pure macabre magic. From the twisted mind of Girlflesh breaks forth her second full length album, and with her second outing she beats out her previous material. Plunge yourself into this vile world and you, too, may just come out thinking that you're Almost Human. Jan 21 2015