Melting Rust Opera - the cleaners

Melting Rust Opera is a project focusing on coldwave and industrial influences that started in 2017 as far as I can see. However, in that time period they have made a few leaps in their musical career that started with the 2019 EP "HEALTH_Feel Nothing Remixes". Officially respected and observed by HEALTH, the EP Melting Rust Opera released contains remixes from themselves, Flesh Wire, and Wolfgng. They even went so far as to release a German version of HEALTH's song 'Feel Nothing' wherein Melting Rust Opera translated the lyrics into German and sang over the original track. To add to their reputation, Melting Rust Opera has also remixed Laibach and worked with Armageddon Dildos. Their music has landed multiple times on Brutal Resonance and now they're back with a new single titled 'the cleaners'.



'the cleaners' is a tough song to judge. On one hand, the song has a brilliant, minimal coldwave approach to sound design. I appreciated the retro-feel the song gave with analogue instrumentation taking hold and fascinating me as soon as I heard the first beat. Metallic electronic twangs decorate the song throughout its run and the deeper, lo-fi backing synth that comes and goes is absolutely brilliant. But my major complaint comes from the vocals. They are spoken word in a sense with a slight rhythm to them. But the voice that comes with the tremendous instrumentation just sounds like it's whining from start to finish. Instrumentation and vocals are a fifty-fifty effort and if I can't enjoy one then I can't enjoy the other. 

It's also important to note that Melting Rust Opera has stated that 'the cleaners' was inspired by Billy Idol's legendary single 'Eyes Without A Face'. I can't correlate one song to the other in either sense, but inspiration comes in mysterious ways. 

If Melting Rust Opera can find a way to get either a new vocalist or make their voice operate in a different manner that would compliment their music, then there would be no issue. That being said, reviews are subjective to the individual. Perhaps you'll find something gratifying from the song and I implore you to listen to it nonetheless and come up with your own opinion. 'the cleaners' is available in digital formats via Bandcamp. Go check it out. 

This review was commissioned through our Ko-fi page. Feel free to check it out for review, interview, and premiere opportunities. 
Nov 29 2020