Fallbeil - The Mockturtle

Album

13 Nov

Fallbeil is the brainchild of Kluentah and Wosto, a German duo churning out some mind-bending Electro and EBM. Their sound moves between the esoteric and eccentric as The Mockturtle (2023) presents a mix of Stoner-fuelled sci-fi dystopia and sludgy industrial textures. The duo applies their trade to Macadam Mambo.

In the opener, 'Cocorico', narration reveals much of the world Fallbeil is creating. From there, the album explodes, bringing sonic technicolour of chronic sepia green that spreads over every kick and snare. Fallbeil touches on oppression and industry in the first third of the album. They use heavy distortion to parallel exhaust fumes, coating the already brutalised ozone. Fallbeil presents these thematic beats in a wash of absurdity. Tracks such as 'Inside Job' are robotic and coarse. The drums mimic the slog of heavy industry. Percussion is skeletal, with thick, greasy sludge permeating every inch of the process. 'Megaknast' shows the vast scale of industry where sirens play out warnings to yards so expansive that by the time we hear it, it's a distant echo of the sound it was. 'Running Drunk' aims to juxtapose 'Inside Job' and 'Megaknast'. Percussive spluttering covers the 1984-style Tanoy, whereas 'Sattle' breaks into this slow, plodding beat filled with nods to reggae and ska. The anti-establishment sentiment is so palpable you can practically hear the work boots scrapping defiantly against the factory floor.

Fallbeil brings some funky, punky vibes to the short-lived '361980'. Although fleeting, it acts as a perfect palate cleanser to the crushing, industrial oppression that came before it. 'No Go Area' matches that punk-infusing stone-facedness. The repetition is relentless, a reaction to the world established in the album's beginning. The second interlude of the project, 'Turtle Sea', takes on a life and meaning of its own as it carefully bridges the gap between our world and this dystopian reality as an AI assistant verbalising a turtle soup recipe. Fallbeil cranks up the absurdity towards the midsection of the release, perfectly exemplified by the title track, 'The Mockturtle'. The short Electro number chimes plenty of whimsical 8-bit melodies. 'Ganja' pleases with that same absurdity, crafting strange folk tales around the personas Kluentah and Wosto take on while producing. The final track, 'Rackelhan', is a fever dream of sporadic drumming, deafening distortion, and a murky tone that floods through every single iota of this 9-minute epic. Time distorts, disregarded by Fallbeil. The mechanical drums weave between on-beat and off. A heavy synthesised base attached to saturated kicks creates a claustrophobic listening experience, pushing the boundaries of extreme music not to speed or straight harshness but rather through overwhelming sound. Each track on the album has an angle. They are all pieces of a bigger puzzle, introducing perspective and world-building that tackle themes of government propaganda, AI's invasion of our homes, and freedom in a world obsessed with the incessant march of industry.

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