3 out of 5

Label: No Quarter

Produced by: ?

A live reshuffling of (mostly) tracks from the three EPs – swapping in some singles, maybe a couple new covers/tracks, based on my Discogs sleuthing? – Carpenter Brut’s aptly and succinctly named Carpentbrutlive will have some affect wiggle room depending on why you’re a fan of BR, but I think whatever the case, it ends up being a bit much. …But: I am sure this is a great live show.

While ‘Brut, to me, has come to typify the synthwave genre, rather catapulting it into more general awareness amongst a certain demographic and solidifying a visual / tonal ethos that very much carried over into related media, that’s not to say there isn’t range within the artist’s work. It’s a bit more straightforward and beat-heavy than some others in the scene, but you get breathing room, and you certainly get atmosphere. Live, though, or at least in this instance, or at least how this is mixed and edited, CB is focused on keeping the dancefloor alive: tracks cut right into the next, and there’s barely space, with the low-end beat amped up to the max and the bassy synths taking the front channels. True, the EPs were each individually bangers, and so there’s some perception at play, here – listening to the EPs as six tracks at a time versus 18 in a row as an album has a built-in pause – but still, the sequence has also been switched up to make the first half of the album one non-stop dance party.

I tend to like more atmosphere, so that makes this a bit unappealing, but let’s say that is your preferred approach – then I think maybe the sequencing also bites you a bit, because the set kind of gathers up the more disco / dancey stuff towards the back half, with sole slow jam Paradise Warfare in the middle to break it up. Which also means that if you like the latter stuff, the former half might be as noisily oppressive as it was for me.

But again: the pace and low-end has been elevated across the board. Which does mean this doesn’t suffer from a tinny live recording style, at least, but damn, if they wanted to replicate being on the club floor with your ears bleeding from the speakers… done and done.

So I have trouble saying this is a worthwhile repeat visit beyond exposure to what a CB live show may be like, or unless you have listened to Trilogy or whatever and thought: I wish this was louder, and louder all the time. Then this set might be for you.