Cabaret Voltaire - Shadow Of Fear - Mute - dLP/DD/CD
Very much a one-man band these days, the name Cabaret Voltaire used to encompass tough ear-bleeding electronica and punishing dance remixes across several decades before future sound-engineer Chris Watson departed in the '70s, and Stephen Mallinder co-formed the triumphant Wrangler with Benge and Tuung's Phil Winter in the '00s.
Remaining member Richard H Kirk is a confirmed studio junkie having knocked out some ground-breaking stonertronica as Sandoz, Electronic Eye, Sweet Exorcist (on Warp), Wicky Wacky and countless eyewatering pseudonyms that failed to lend any hint as to where Kirk's electonically-charged mind was eventually headed. And the last time Cabaret Voltaire was branded for a release was 1994's admittedly terrific The Conversation, issued on Belgium's forward-thinking R&S with very little Mallinder involved.
So where are we in 2020? Mallinder is creating pin-sharp work with Wrangler and Kirk has resurrected the name Cabaret Voltaire for a new album. A double album. A coloured vinyl double album. On Mute. What can go wrong? The debate within Cabaret Voltaire social media circles blazes on and on. He can and he can't, he should and he shouldn't. Meanwhile, this intense record detracts from the discussion somewhat successfully.
Primarily, Shadow of Fear has direct similarities to earlier Crepuscule releases such as Gut Level and Sluggin' Fer Jesus with its repetitious jamming and controlled distorted sinister vocal samples. Head to the relentless and motorik Universal Energy or Papa Nine Zero Delta United for evidence. Then a few Sandoz refs kick in with Night of the Jackal and Be Free, before all hell breaks loose with distorted disco-not-disco tracks such as Vasto and What's Goin' On.
So while the debate rages on as to whether Kirk has the right to call this a Cabaret Voltaire album, he has essentially created what sounds exactly like a Cabaret Voltaire album, to these ears at any rate. And there isn't a duff track on the album, although the rather bullish and clunky Vasto is an odd single choice. Most importantly, Shadow of Fear isn't just the sound of Sheffield - it's the soundtrack to a very different Britain to the one that last saw a CV album.
★★★★★★★★