Non Toxique Lost - la dernière section d'une longue chanson

In the 1980's, Non Toxique Lost was part of the industrial movement in Berlin, releasing many of their works on cassette. Later in life, the project collected their works onto vinyl. 2016 saw the project compose a new piece for a concert at Berlin Atonal Festival. The song they composed for it is titled 'Les Fins du Monde', with the last part of this piece titled 'Untergang'. They then recorded this piece when they played a gig at Klang 25 Festival in Vienna; Non Toxique Lost crafted around twenty different versions of this piece for the fest. In 2020, member Sea Wanton found the tracks in his archive, re-arranged and re-recorded them with the help of DJ Vrhovny (who also proceeded to make the final master), and released it on CD. The album, dutifully titled "la dernière section d'une longue chanson" is a mixed bag of experimental works that never manifests into a tangible or enjoyable product. 

The first track on the album is titled 'Les Fins (Berlin)' is a repetitive track that lasts for nearly five-and-a-half minutes. After a brief, but quite good, sample-riddled intro, an analogue industrial bassline plays out around the thirty-seven second mark and loops for the remainder of the track. Though there are other sounds and instruments that join this noise, such as a gloomy guitar, but the track became rather boring and annoying after the first two-minutes. The echoed vocals on the track, though sparse as they are, don't have any flow or follow the beat whatsoever. 



The following track, 'Les Fins (Dark Matters)', is much more appreciated. It starts off as a cinematic dark ambient piece with a steady line of electronic dribble and reversed whispering intertwined. It's quite spooky. The track casually builds up, adding in steady drops of hardened percussion that adds tension. While the wait to the four-minute mark is a bit long, it's well worth the wait as all Hell breaks loose. Well done. 

Unfortunately, 'Les Fins (S.O.T.A.)' falls back into a repetitious blunder utilizing looping techniques that make the same bassline last for the entirety of the seven-minute ride. Despite the title, 'Les Fins (Popsong)' is nowhere near a pop song. It's a moody and gloomy piece featuring deepened bass guitar and a constant string of samples. I did not find much to appreciate about this track, however, as it just never went anywhere. 

Ambient-techno takes a turn on 'Les Fins (hic Rhodos hic Salta)'. The one-minute and forty-five-second wait until percussion kicked in was a bit long, but from there I soar high into a fun and atmospheric techno laced experimental track. 'Les Fins (World)' brought back the same bassline from the first song, and once I heard that it became a no-go for me; I was already sick of that sound from the first song and hearing it again put me in a sour mood. I could say much the same about 'Les Fins (Utrecht)', even though it dives into obscurity with the second half of the track exploring noise and further experimental nonsense. Les Fins (Ovita)' uses that same bassline though with EBM in mind, as does 'Les Fins (Korg)', and 'Les Fins (Untergang)'. 

I understand the intent of this album was to present various mixes on a single piece, but to re-use a sound or loop in many of your songs, despite other samples and noises generated with it, does not make it anymore appreciated. After my first playthrough of 'la dernière section d'une longue chanson', I felt drained. Going through it multiple times after had me bored and frustrated. The two songs that I appreciate on the album, 'Les Fins (Dark Matters)' and 'Les Fins (hi Rhodos hic Salta), had enough independence and difference from the rest of the tracks that made them stand out incredibly well. Unfortunately, two out of ten tracks is not a whole lot. This is not an album that I can appreciate, no matter how many times I have tried. 

Nonetheless, this does leave me curious as to how Non Toxique Lost would sound on an album based on original material, not the same song remixed over-and-over again. Thankfully, they have a whole discography of material to sift through, so I can see myself going through it at some point. After all, I cannot and will not knock off a band based on one single album. Despite the low score and criticism I bestow on this album, I urge both yourself and myself to check out the rest of Non Toxique Lost's discography. 

This review was commissioned through our Ko-fi page.
Jun 19 2021