Cute by SUTCLIFFE NO MORE
In a culture that is increasingly sanitized on the surface, yet underneath is just as depraved as we’ve always been, we’re gagged by childlike words to talk about subjects deemed too sensitive–”pew pew” violence, someone “unaliving” themselves–flattening the emotional impact of the most traumatic experiences that life can throw at you. But breaking away from aggressively moderated social media platforms, there are still subversive artists who lay the darkness bare, shocking our senses back to natural revulsion (or morbid curiosity, if your temperament is like mine). And for Power Electronics pioneers Kevin Tomkins and Paul Taylor (formerly of Whitehouse and Sutcliffe Jugend respectively) collaborating under the name SUTCLIFFE NO MORE, their new release Cute reminds us that even when we ignore it, the shadow is always there. Like a tree in your backyard that looks healthy from the outside, the parasite of corruption eats away at the roots, putrefying the organism from the inside-out until the most gentle breeze sends that tree crashing down into your living room. Maybe if the disease was noticed earlier, the rot could be cut out, the tree safely removed, your home spared–but this isn’t possible when we deem it impolite to talk about decay.
This record is rooted in but not restrained by the typical Power Electronics sound, taking a more dynamic approach by incorporating influences from other industrial and experimental music genres. The opening track, “Salt”, is spacious and haunting, an ambient drone overlaid with insectoid buzzing serving as the backdrop to spoken word lyrics that ooze with contempt and disgust for the evil that is being described. The following song “The Truth” features a repetitive synth riff that feels lifted from a dancey 80s darkwave track, audible throughout the piece even as it is overtaken by complex layers of static and screaming. “Mammal” feels like a liturgical lament, dramatic and sorrowful, a profound exposition of the worst aspects of humanity, minimal production slowly breaking down into unrecognizable noise. With these carefully constructed tracks navigating between stillness and explosive movements, Cute strikes a delicate balance between expansive atmospheric soundscapes, and extreme gut-churning chaos. This might be best displayed on the title track, a 24-minute descent into obsessive insanity that builds in intensity to the breaking point and beyond.
It begs the question, what’s the point of engaging with this subject matter? It’s easy to call those who perpetrate acts of unthinkable violence monsters, less than human. But that perspective only makes it easier for the bad ones to hide in plain sight. It makes it easier to convince yourself that you’re inherently morally superior and could never stoop to that level. But under the wrong circumstances, any person is capable of becoming the worst versions of themselves.
- Kalen
