Human Impact ‘Human Impact’ Review: industrial noise rock vets make a murky stew of sound.
Human Impact is a supergroup of a most specific pedigree, featuring key members from the New York City noise rock and industrial scenes of the late 80’s and early 90’s.
The lineup features vocalist/guitarist Chris Spencer [Unsane], bassist Chris Pravdica [Swans, Xiu Xiu], keyboardist Jim Coleman [Cop Shoot Cop], and drummer Phil Puleo [Cop Shoot Cop, Swans], and with such a formidable collective of musicians, sky high expectations are inevitable.
Luckily, those are met on the group’s self-titled debut album (out March 13 via Ipecac Recordings), which honors their disparate beginnings while also forging their own formidable path.
Opener November is existential industrial skronk, recalling both NIN and Gang of Four if they made a James Bond theme, with Spencer spitting lyrics about surviving the everyday “can’t lose empathy, still have to try” over sandpaper riffing, while E605 is a cinematic dirge about insecticide that also feels like a brutal breakup song, awash in sonic grime and aural dread.
Portrait is an understated gem, featuring tribal drums and goth atmosphere before ending in a storm of feedback shards, while Respirator is even sparser, held aloft mostly by funereal piano and glassy guitars.
Consequences is a particular standout, and perhaps the most traditionally “industrial” track of the bunch, where seasick guitars and a collage of soundbites careen off each other to kaleidoscopic effect, while Unstable lives up to its name thanks to its disorienting percussion and ominous soundscapes.
The album closes with This Dead Sea, an epic slice of angst that is as theatrical as it is harrowing. ending things on an unresolved, uneasy climax.
With their first album, Human Impact have expertly crafted a mesmerizing collection of songs that both honor their hometown roots and respective musical pasts while also adding subtle variations and stylistic shifts that befits their shared years of experience.
Perhaps Human Impact’s isolated, perilous tone couldn’t have come out at a more perfect time. If we’re forced to practice human distancing to escape the wrath of the Coronavirus, this debut effort makes for the perfect unnerving soundtrack.
