CRUEL AND STUPID by EXTERNAL ACTOR

An attitude of pessimism pervaded alternative rock much throughout the 90s. But while the self-centered melancholic outlook of Gen X may come across today as unfounded, the same negative future orientation seems to be the only realistic worldview in 2023. How could anyone feel a sense of optimism in this day and age? Every generation has wondered whether they would be the last, but these days it is almost impossible to think that the status quo of the prevailing culture could continue much longer.

CRUEL AND STUPID by EXTERNAL ACTOR is defeatist to its core, with themes that center around surveillance capitalism and the banality of evil. But instead of balking in pure terror, the only reaction one can muster is grim resignation. These concepts are presented as an allegorical haunted house on the track, OLD HOUSE. Not just a house with ghosts lurking around the corners and under the stairs, but a non-Euclidean House of Leaves-esque inescapable panopticon. The symbolism is dropped on MAY I PLEASE ENTER: "And every time I check my phone I feel more out of touch with the simplest things, and I’m reminded that while it’s impossible to predict what will happen, I’m positive that it will be well deserved in the end." These fatalistic themes are backed by heavy guitar riffs and buzzy basslines, a post-rock approach that avoids pigeonholing this record into any particular genre. The result is authentic and raw, varying between grungy shoegaze and droning walls of sound. With vocals that vary between shouted choruses and spoken verses, there's a clear expression of anger, desperation, and dissociation throughout each track.

The pessimism of EXTERNAL ACTOR is like a bitter medicine. But by painting a portrait of our post-accelerationist dystopia, CRUEL AND STUPID provides comfort in commiseration. That's why this album is one of my favorite releases of the week.

- Kalen