A raw, experimental new offering, electronic artist Gordian Stimm‘s debut album Your Body In On Itself, is a vivid exploration of bodily autonomy. Released via independent Leicester-based label Amateur Pop, Stimm (aka Maeve Westall of itoldyouiwouldeatyou) has crafted six unpredictable, intriguing soundscapes that range from uplifting and melodic, to sparse and unusual.
At times reminiscent of early Passion Pit or Crystal Castles, Stimm’s record is a visceral collection of distorted, yet dance-able beats. Opener ‘Bleeding Out In a Septic Tank’ hosts six dense minutes of erratic synth textures and a blend of both mangled and clear vocals, that will either alienate or invite listeners in to their obscure vision. The edgy, disjointed beats and scratchy, soaring electronics of ‘Pia Mater (Sorry Mate)’ see Stimm extrapolating on the “retail price of emotional labour” and the fear of failure with an unexpected buoyancy.
The ominous, yet oddly uplifting ‘Miscellaneous Body Parts’ shows Stimm at their best, mixing the foreboding and the freeing together in one track. The dark, humourous images of tapeworms burrowing into spines on ‘The Very Best Of Friends’ provides a strange distraction, before the crashing beats and overlapping vocals of penultimate track ‘Song For Self Help’ disorientates listeners further. The atmospheric, kaleidoscopic sounds of ‘Synthetic Retinas’ close the record, stimulating the senses right until the last beat.
There’s an enjoyable violence underscoring Stimm’s vision, a gleeful, sometimes painful dissecting of the self and the social cues that help to construct or dismantle it. Your Body In On Itself is a bold, surreal listen from a bold, surreal artist and one we highly recommend.
Follow Gordian Stimm on Spotify and Bandcamp.
Photo Credit:@trashjinni
Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut
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