Nothing is guaranteed to give that Friday feeling quite like a premiere of a new track, courtesy of Everything Is Noise. Oh wait – nothing except perhaps the premiere of an entire album – and a chaotic one at that! French noise rockers Mnemotechnic have returned with Blinkers, the raucous follow-up to 2017’s Weapons. Although not available for purchase until October 11, you lucky people can hear the record in its entirety below!
The trio have been making a racket for a decade now – having founded in 2009 – and previous releases have seen their sound take a gradually darker route. Across these eight tracks, electronic flourishes give everything on Blinkers a suitably dystopian feel. It’s mechanical, dark, and sharp to the touch. Previous record Weapons was, in Mnemotechnic’s own words, focused on the concept ‘of something going wrong’. The visceral vibe of Blinkers strolls very much beyond going, instead tipping fully into gone.
With a hefty spotlight on the topic of man’s geological impact, and the denial of humanity’s part in the alteration of our planet, Blinkers is heralded as having ‘nothing to do with a summertime record’. This much is clear from the pangs of agony in some of the lyrical delivery (see “Along the Sun”). Elsewhere on the album, intriguing moments persist. Catchy off-beat hi-hat cuts crisply across the twisted, pitch-shifted vocals tracks that resonate underneath on “Leak the Civilians”. “Under the Mud” launches chaotically into percussive mayhem, with guitars and sound effects lambasting the listener intensely for its brief lifespan. Closer “By Accident” seems utterly bereft of hope until a distorted bass tone kicks in to accompany a haunting soundscape, ultimately springing into life long enough to justify the noise rock associations. It’s bleak stuff, in the best possible way.
Blinkers will be released on October 11, 2019 via À Tant Rêver Du Roi and Kerviniou Recordz, and is available to pre-order. If you’re in the band’s hometown of Brest, you can catch them live on October 12 following the record’s release. Finally, be sure to check out Mnemotechnic‘s Facebook page and official website.
