En conversation avec by VICTIME

On their new album En conversation avec, Quebec noise rock outfit VICTIME experience patriarchy as a silently stifling force, contorting victims into an infuriating headlock that prevents the presentation of authentic personhood. According to the album’s lyrics, patriarchy humiliates non-men by expecting them to oppress themselves, implying a sort of desired personality that denies them much of the freedom that men continue to enjoy. Roiling in this constant cycle of self-censorship, the band anxiously paces around in search of cracks in the system, marching to the beat of krautrock motorik adorned with eerily silky vocals, explosive industrial tones, grumbling melodic basslines, and noisy synth sounds. As the album progresses, this aggressive tendency finds a target, acknowledging that to end patriarchy, all who benefit must lose the undue power they inherit, whether these men use their power justly, unjustly, or don’t even use it at all. With this realization, built tension rapidly dissipates, with the bristling, pent-up anger finding a target, a topic of conversation found for this newly outspoken voice.