Hailing from the Budapest underground comes Naqoy, a two piece noisy, industrial outfit who brings us their third release titled Art Brut. According to the artist, this album is an expression and meditation of the last couple years of the band and their struggles and hardships, but ultimately overcoming said hardships and creating something new to them. There’s a lot of interesting thoughts and ideas being pushed behind this album that makes it pretty intriguing to dive into the wild sonic landscapes these guys are able to create.
Starting out strong with the loud feedback of guitars and a strangely catchy dance beat, the opening track Maze, captures that frantic sense of anxious urgency of being lost within a maze. The swirling sound textures and intense beat creates this ultimate sense of anxiety that fits just well with this album. Much of the album does follow suit, with plenty of rich noisy melodies thanks to the melding of hard guitar riffs and glitchy electronic beats, I feel like so many others have tried to make that combination work and not end up sounding like a complete mess, but Naqoy on the other hand have found that perfect niche that hits that symbiosis very well.
The atmosphere and production is very reminiscent of Joy Division’s Atrocity Exhibition. While not as subdued, Art Brut is able to capture that glitchy, gothic dance atmosphere that Joy Division was also able to accomplish. It’s very much noticeable on the track White Rat Spirit, where the drum sample kit was probably the same as Joy Division used in the past.
While the band did put a great intention and emotional idea behind the album I feel like much of it was lost within the music. The sounds created are so abstract and obtuse that I feel like the average listener wouldn’t pick up on the underlying message outside of the looming anxiety that this album creates. It’s intense, and heavy and straight forward, and maybe that’s what the band had intended, but personally I felt it got tiring and repetitive after a while. There could be only so many swirling guitar effects one can add in different patterns to create a song.
In the end I still found myself enjoying this album and certainly took something away from it. The unique effects, rich textures and chaotic melodies really captured a fascinating look into the artistic lens of this band and well worth a listen given you’re into heady and industrious melodic noises.