4 out of 5

Label: Black Bus Records

Produced by: Carpenter Brut

Sincerely not intending to denigrate Carpenter Brut’s craft, I think the immense appeal of their work is its relative simplicity. When CB was pitched to me to check out, setting aside the description that was used in that pitch, it did boil down to: listen to one track, and you’ll get it. And… yes. The kind of imagined soundtracks to 80s horror / sci-fi movies crafted by synthwave / darkwave artists had been around before Brut, but it felt like CB was the one to kind of focus it into something that was very clearly for listening to. As opposed to leaning into dancefloor fare, or more purposefully leaning into movie scores, or kitschy background music: this stuff channeled our nostalgia for a particular something or other and shuttled it through 90s industrial and a burgeoning chiptune scene for music that was cool as shit, and rocked, and also did the job or evoking an era. That was a lot of words for “simplicity,” but that’s also why I didn’t mean that as an insult: there’s a lot going on in CB’s work, but it’s immediately graspable.

Carpenter Brut I was where I started. Or rather, Trilogy, the EP collection, and thus the first song on CB I: Escape From Midwich Valley. And yeah, you can take the Carpenter / classic horror references to the bank – the song is definitely more 80s than anything else, but it’s got the Carpenter bomp and wonderful atmospherics that give it a macabre undercurrent besides. I bought the set right away, based on that track. And CB I isn’t dissatisfying on that front by any means, though… CB’s tendency to step closer to the dancefloor is probably already apparent through some track names: Disco Zombie Italia; L.A. Venice Bitch 80’s. Initially I giggled at these, while still appreciating their retro fuzz, but over the years, I realize I tend to hear this stuff as a bit less dense than Midwich and other tunes. Which isn’t bad, depending on what appeals to you out of CB: if you like industrial leanings, if you like sweaty club mixes, then the midsection of this EP is for you. The songs I’ve mentioned, plus Wake Up the President, are all a lot of fun, but I guess I do prefer a bit more atmosphere in the songs, and not just a catchy-as-hell beat and a cool vibe and samples.

But I’ve also outlined there why this set still works: it’s bookended by some of its densest works, and then it’s an all-out party inbetween. Nothing betrays the vibe of darkwave by any means – CB’s satanic symbolism can still apply, whether more “seriously” or kitschily – but the EP allows the listener to have some grim and gritty cake, but then eat it and discover it’s actually rainbow ice cream cake with sprinkles…

Yeah, we’ll go with that.