Blaqk Audio Produce CexCells
Debut Electronica Disc From AFI Member Side Project
Blaqk Audio deliver an excellent debut disc with a few flaws
Blaqk Audio, comprised of AFI lead vocalist Davey Havok and guitarist Jade Puget, began producing material for CexCells at the beginning of the decade. In 2003, AFI hit gold with their album ‘Sing the Sorrow’ and Havok/Puget put this side project on ice until 2007.
Blacqk Audio sound like the love child of Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails. Part dance record, part gothic soundtrack, their debut album, CexCells, delivers pleasing hardcore electronica sprinkled with several highlights.
Lead track ‘Stiff Kittens’ hammers out programmed drums, dark brooding synths and loops of industrial noise, setting the sound for most of the album. But what makes CexCells great in the beginning, also contributes to its downfall.
Delivering all the bleeps, pulses and hardened synth tricks, Blaqk Audio sometimes go overboard with the sonic magic, as if propelled to get everything out of their systems. Their love of the genre fuels this reliance on programmed noise but at times, it distracts the listener from enjoying the music. They sometimes come across as a theatrical performance that tries to be everything at once.
However, when they focus and let down their shields, the distractions fade and they produce top-notch electronica. ‘Semiotic Love’ and ‘On a Friday’ deliver programmed beats, great hooks and massive BPM without becoming bogged down in overboard production.
Digital Stuff
Stand out track ‘Snuff on Digital’ pounds out a tempo that changes every ten seconds (it changes five times before the lead vocals begin) and a killer chorus. This track works because it incorporates noise, blending it into the background instead of the foreground as often heard on other tracks. Instead of sounding forced to add layered noise to make the song more “electronic”, the noises, tempo changes and vocals work smoothly and propel the song forward naturally.
Blaqk Audio commit one of the common mistakes in electronica on CexCells by failing to deliver true emotion. A perfect example of this comes at 2 minutes 42 seconds into ‘Where would you like them left’, at this point in the song the tempo changes into a softer beat perfect for lyrics that could redeem the singer or delve deeper into everything he has lost. Instead, the softer side quickly jumps back to programmed instrumental leaving the listener unsatisfied.
For the audience to connect with the music, the lead vocalist must show more emotion to warm the hard electronic edge and bring the music an oddly organic feel. Otherwise, the music sadly blends in the background and leaves the listener indifferent. This is sadly often the case with CexCells.
While not a bad album, this debut into electronica for members of a revival punk band sparks an interest for what’s to come. Like Radiohead, who went from rock to experimental, once Blaqk Audio have completed a tour and begin producing new material without the interference and pressure of delivering a new AFI disc, this band will break into a completely new animal.
