WARNING: Reader and listener discretion is advised due to the content of this album.
When was the last time you had an advisory warning for an album? Not one of those silly black and white Parental Advisory labels that mean next to nothing these days, vulgar language or the goofy gore of death metal albums don’t have the same impact they once did. However, with Foreign Body, they take inspiration from the French literary tradition of the early 20th century, Libertine, the album’s namesake, to not shy away from the harsh conditions of the real world.
‘Strung Out’ gets things off to a heated, if somewhat approachable, start: one minute and forty-five seconds of noise rock and punk crossing over; the sense of unease creeping in with a noisy and irreverent saxophone performance driving a sense of twisted desperation trying to survive a heroin drought. Things take a sudden bleak turn as the second track, ‘White Lord Of Hell’, hits the listener with a cold open sample of someone experiencing grievous bodily harm in full detail, said to be inspired by a story of a family member getting “stomped out trying to buy cocaine in the Bridgeport projects” and the proverbial cliff the band step off before plummeting into musings on depravity and the nasty side of life no one wants to acknowledge existing. Angular hard punk riffs and an irreverent distinctive vocal performance keep driving the unceasing three-minute face melter and set the tone of the forthcoming experience: depravity, discomfort and unease.
This is immediately reflected in ‘Passed Around’, another white knuckle noise punk endurance test, lyrically blatant and the first point on the album that comes close to being too uncomfortable to experience. Fortunately the band offers a reprieve; ‘Hind Legs’ delves into sludgier territories, barrelling straight into a monster groove. The entire track almost feels reminiscent of Electric Wizard and Uncle Acid if they were exclusively into railing lines of bath salts. The track locks into a psychedelic nightmare as the vocals arrive, from a performance and lyrical perspective, wandering the darker points of animalism that may linger in the shadows of our own minds.
“It makes for a deep self-conflict, much like enjoying a film like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer or Funny Games, creative arts that skirt close to the edge of reality in their storytelling and presentation aggressively.”
You find yourself sneering as you listen, pulling faces of disgust and horror at points through the journey Foreign Body takes you on. The band’s sound draws from experimental and underground artists alike, antisocial punk artists, and sludge with fewer touches of blues and noise exploration. Think attitudes of early SWANS and Eyehategod with a hardcore punk edge; at times in the sludgier portions the band are reminiscent of Couch Slut with industrial tinges akin to Street Sects with vocals similar to the manic ramblings of Prostitute.
‘Trophy’ goes hard out of the gate, swinging for the fences with violent sludge punk riffs and nauseating dissonant guitar work reflecting the perverse obsession in the vocals. The intensity continues to build through ‘When Sex Is Not Enough’; walls of feedback screech into a neck breaking staccato groove and assault the listener, slowly breaking down as the character at the centre of the track falls into a more unsettling and violent mindset.
More than anything, the vocal performance captures the intended energy to a tee. Always drowning in distortion, the delivery varies but always feels disturbed and on the brink of losing touch with reality entirely. Possessed and incoherent rambling, the storyteller is channelling demons through his soul as he spins these tales of depravity and woe wrapped in depraved poetry and imagery.
‘Man Was Meant To Take Advantage’ embraces industrial aspects alongside noise soaked sludge lines. A repetitive drum beat drives the track with dissonant chords ringing out, building a thick layer of tension for the animalistic vocals to seize control of. ‘Born For This’ has a heavy punk edge, going from high speed verses to a gnarly half time tempo switch up for the chorus.
The cleaner (term used loosely) production from their debut FIXED has evolved into something grimier to reflect the early 90s New York inspiration behind Libertine. Recorded by Matt Russel (Oozing Wound, Stress Position, Extended Hell), favouring heavier distortion permanently saturates the vocals throughout the experience. The instrumentals feel more claustrophobic with a firmer bite as well. Not to say they were easy listening beforehand with their debut, but Libertine has a welcome intentional lofi crust over the top of the production.
The title track ‘Libertine’ has a heavy QOTSA vibe in its opening riff, and the vocals are of a perverse alter ego of early Pixies. A repetitive riff throughout adds to the sense of unease and disquiet. Helped by this being the only track on the album with clean vocals, understanding all of the lewd and depraved poetry spat out by the vocalist makes for a skin crawling penultimate track. Last but not least, ‘Beauty Is A Hammer’ is a slow beating crusty monolith, referencing the final act of 120 Days Of Sodom, Foreign Body are sure to leave on a heavy hook and one final display of grotesque imagery.
Libertine is very much not for the faint of heart from the subject matter tackled by the band alone. It makes for a deep self-conflict, much like enjoying a film like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer or Funny Games, creative arts that skirt close to the edge of reality in their storytelling and presentation aggressively. But what is here is undeniable; Libertine is ferocious, uncompromising, bleak and leaves you wanting more. Foreign Body left nothing left on the table; in fact, fuck the table. They’ve taken a flamethrower to the entire house with everyone in it, leaving nothing but a festering mound of flesh and shattered memories in its place. Drawing attention to the mess they’ve made, almost forcing you to stare at what remains, and the worst part is you don’t want to look away.