Of no doubt, this is the best album of Somatic Responses and obviously one of the most outstanding releases of Hymen records this year. It's unexpected and surprising, conceptual and frightening like night itself.During last two years since the time of Giauzar's release the musicians understood their true destination, improved their work and strengthened up to the highest level of listeners' destruction. This album really gladdened all fans of this Welsh project, they thought that best times of SR are left behind, but guys made a great surprise for their admirers. Some two years have passed and this team recorded a new album of very high quality. This release is a real breakthrough of the year! Total Somatic Responses's revival.
This album starts with track "Duality" powerful drum-machine, bits of which tell us about absolutely different, new music. Maybe you'll have new vision of the project and notice new features of their creative work which were not obvious earlier. While listening to the next track "Outside The Box" you feel as if you pass through dark spaces of galaxy on a high-speed all-terrain vehicle; stars, comets, sparks fly away from crawler. "Outside The Box" - high time to come out of the box. Track "Human Bass" hypnotize with its metallic robotized voice, move the words in a circle like some invocation and dissolve it in the stream of syncopated rhythm. Title composition "Digital Darkness" starts with rustling idm-rhythms creeping up to the listener from all around, a little bit damped panorama reminding some aliens's invasion. Three-dimensional voluminous sound, colorful palette of interlacing sounds-palpi, usage of legendary device TB-303 in absolutely new way. A great variety of various musical experiments. In "Reset The World" you can touch the depths of surrounding world, feel space, hear time drop second by second. A little bit later we meet crazy drums with syncopated bits making the night dance.
"Stranged", "Neu", "Bushido" - listening to these tracks advanced listener will hardly recognize in them former SR. These are really new standards musicians presented to their listeners, very fresh, conceptual and exquisite sounding, in previous works of this Welsh duet we could hardly find anything like that.
By the way, fans of piercing rhythms, ubrupt sound loops and uncontrolled agression will also find something special in this album. Such compositions as "Beatbyter", "Invincible", "Cut Up Musick", "Go On" are very powerful industrial collages of techno-plant core, they can easily brake down the loudspeakers of your acoustic system or collapse the avalanche of steel rails into the ears of an amateur listener. It makes album Digital Darkness not only attractive and breathtaking but also dangerous at the same time. Inner strength and outward beauty are the key principles of the musicians in this release. "Buzarro", "Scorpio" are the last two tracks - harmonious finish of cyber-aliens' invasion. Circle closed up.
If you ever thought of getting rid of aggresion, well forget about throwing computers through the window or fightings in offices. In such mood that's enough just to listen to this disc and deepen into its content. Digital darkness waits for you with open arms.
- Hymen records