REVIEWS

FGFC820
The Hanging Garden EP

Razorburn Records

Posted: Monday, March 27, 2006
By: Ilker Yucel
Editor

Shifting gears from the emotionally charged futurepop of Brüderschaft, DJ Rexx Arkana teams up with his partner in crime Dräcos for the EBM assault that is FGFC820. Recalling the primitive days of Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb, the sound of FGFC820 is perhaps the best example of pure, beat-driven EBM to be unleashed onto the scene in years. The rhythms pound their way into your psyche with militaristic grandeur, stomping like a Teutonic march the likes of which that have been mostly lost in this new age of synthpop wannabes. A multitude of repeated samples are present, as well as the obligatory synths, but they are limited to minimalist bass lines and occasional flurries of complementary sound effects, allowing the tribal pomp of the percussion to stand above the rest of the mix. Amid all of this are Rexx's vocals, which are mostly distorted, but serving a similar function as the synths and samples, providing texture over the beat.

The title track, as many goth aficionados will recognize, is a cover by The Cure. As one of that band's darkest and most angst-filled songs (from their Pornography album), Rexx and Dräcos do a fine job in capturing the original song's ambience, if not the actual presentation. The original was characterized by heavy drums and a heavy bass; this cover is not dissimilar, but favoring a much more tribal arrangement, keeping it true to the EBM genre. Along with the bass synth are some choral samples that give the song an atmosphere of gloom that suits the song very well. The following remix doesn't deviate too much, adding some odd bits to offer variety. "World of God" is a collaboration featuring Mika Goedrijk from This Morn' Omina. This track and its accompanying remix are surefire hits for the modern industrial dancefloor; with the straightforward pulsation and the faux-religious samples, "World of God" is poised to be stuck in DJs set lists for a good while. The same can be said for "Malfunction," whose only vocals are carried through samples. The song is an exercise in EBM minimalism, carrying little more than the thumping beat and repetitive bass line, but it's so damn catchy that it just resonates in your head and doesn't let up until the end. Other than the two "Resolution" interludes, which offer little more than industrial segues between tracks, the EP ends with "Cold Front." Like the preceding tracks, there are the straightforward beats, the simplistic bass line, with some electronic flourishes and samples. Yet again, for all its simplicity, it's likely that the track will keep people on the dance floor.

FGFC820 are certainly making a pure EBM statement with this EP; even the band's artwork is reminiscent of Nitzer Ebb's seminal That Total Age, but without coming across like a hackneyed copy. Indeed, they've done with their cover of "The Hanging Garden" like they've done with EBM as a whole; they've paid homage to the song and to the genre without sounding derivative or unoriginal. Like Laibach's W.A.T., they haven't redefined EBM, they've simply returned to the original aesthetic; deceptive simplicity countered by subtle complexity, and all to the effect of keeping the listeners' bodies moving to the beat. As a teaser to a hopefully impending full-length album, FGFC820 have released a good EP of solid EBM. Why aren't you dancing yet?!