PERTURBATOR

Now that the synthwave sound has become ubiquitous in the mainstream, the genre's key artists are endeavoring to discover what lies beyond its original remit. PERTURBATOR was always predisposed to standing apart from the crowd with a freewheeling ethos that has made the majority of his releases resonate with metalheads, horror fans and electro nuts alike. His breakthrough album, "The Uncanny Valley" (2016),now sounds like a quaint anachronism, at least compared to everything the Frenchman has done since. Synthwave was founded on nostalgia and a very specific strain of movie and TV soundtrack, but "Age Of Aquarius" only takes a passing interest in maintaining any sort of connection with that same '80s fetishism. A more well-rounded and cinematic take on synth soundscapes than the bleep-friendly average, this takes PERTURBATOR to a few unexpected places.

The biggest surprises come from collaborations. "Apocalypse Now" features the vocals of ULVER's Kristoffer Rygg, and makes the most of his authoritative croon, building to a grand crescendo that gradually overwhelms the tasty hooks of the song's first half. The digital sheen that has typified PERTURBATOR's works to date is still in evidence, but there is much more emotion flowing through James Kent's music these days, and Rygg's vocals sound very much at home amid bruised, downtempo synth tones and bloated, viscous bass. "Venus" occupies similar territory, as AUTHOR & PUNISHER's dour intensity infiltrates a glazed-eye wash of synths and shoegaze guitars, like some long, lost out-take from THE CURE's "Disintegration" sessions, re-imagined by machines. Most startling of all, "Age Of Aquarius" ends with its rambling, ten-minute title track: a team-up with ALCEST that shrugs off synthwave's limitations and embarks on a more creative and thoughtful journey. Subtly gothic and laden with pathos, its dreamy textures and pit-pattering percussion exploit the obvious meeting point between the two artists, turning their joining of forces into a sweeping, big screen meeting of minds. Eerily beautiful but also cold and calculated by design, "Age Of Aquarius" is the kind of high concept tune that PERTURBATOR has often dabbled with in the past. On this evidence, his next album should be full of such things.

Meanwhile, the rest of these songs offer varied interpretations of the dark, shapeshifting synth worship that has been Kent's staple diet since 2021's "Lustful Sacraments". "The Art of War" is a glowering, four-to-the-floor assault with a dark ambient soul; "The Glass Staircase" is a pounding, quasi-industrial floor-filler with an experimental edge; and "The Swimming Pool" is an unsettling, piano-led indulgence that keeps its powder dry, bereft of beats.

While there is still a sense that PERTURBATOR could be going deeper into his more outré urges, "Age Of Aquarius" still qualifies as his most adventurous album to date. At its best, this is an imperious display of originality and ingenuity. And even at its worst, this is still the unofficial soundtrack for our brightly lit and brutal future.