| Blaqk Audio- Cexcells written by Heidi |
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So as much as I like Davey Havok and Jade Puget's headlining band AFI, I wasn't sure what to expect out of an album that
started with a track called “Stiff Kittens”. But this new project, Blaqk Audio, surprised me in a lovely way: everything I love
about AFI is combined with everything I love about industrial and techno, and I almost want to be mad at them for making
their debut album, CexCells, so damn good.
To nitpick: perceptively, the tempo of most of CexCells runs a little on the slow side, in terms of vox matched with synth. It
pairs very, very well-- but it seems just a twitch slow. Something in my ears aches for more snap and growl, because that's
what I expect to hear from Havok's voice, but it doesn't take much to realize, quite simply, that this. is. not. AFI. This is a
very different animal entirely: this is about synth, this is about an entirely different realm of prowess in sound manipulation
than what occurs in rock concerts. And honestly? Havok and Puget might be teachers in the School of Modern Rock when
in their AFI duds, but they have been apt students of the Teachings of Electronica. One of the best songs is the last on the
album, “Wake Up, Open The Door, And Escape To The Sea”, because of the classic, sort of vicious lyrical pairing with a
piano keyboard melody and a set of choices in synth programming that gives it a sort of a mysterious quality, and the entire
song cuts off quickly, like the end of a good murder mystery that doesn't dare give its secrets away.
With CexCells, Puget and Havok blended heavy electronic industrial synths with a vocal style that makes the fangirls weak in
the knees. It's electronica you can sing to: it's a couple of boys, in love with synths, and trust me, the synths have to be
lovin' back.
started with a track called “Stiff Kittens”. But this new project, Blaqk Audio, surprised me in a lovely way: everything I love
about AFI is combined with everything I love about industrial and techno, and I almost want to be mad at them for making
their debut album, CexCells, so damn good.
To nitpick: perceptively, the tempo of most of CexCells runs a little on the slow side, in terms of vox matched with synth. It
pairs very, very well-- but it seems just a twitch slow. Something in my ears aches for more snap and growl, because that's
what I expect to hear from Havok's voice, but it doesn't take much to realize, quite simply, that this. is. not. AFI. This is a
very different animal entirely: this is about synth, this is about an entirely different realm of prowess in sound manipulation
than what occurs in rock concerts. And honestly? Havok and Puget might be teachers in the School of Modern Rock when
in their AFI duds, but they have been apt students of the Teachings of Electronica. One of the best songs is the last on the
album, “Wake Up, Open The Door, And Escape To The Sea”, because of the classic, sort of vicious lyrical pairing with a
piano keyboard melody and a set of choices in synth programming that gives it a sort of a mysterious quality, and the entire
song cuts off quickly, like the end of a good murder mystery that doesn't dare give its secrets away.
With CexCells, Puget and Havok blended heavy electronic industrial synths with a vocal style that makes the fangirls weak in
the knees. It's electronica you can sing to: it's a couple of boys, in love with synths, and trust me, the synths have to be
lovin' back.
Track Listing
1. Stiff Kittens
2. Between Breaths (An XX Perspective)
3. Snuff On Digital
4. Bitter For Sweet
5. Where Would You Like Them Left?
6. Fear Of Being Found, The
7. On a Friday
8. Love Letter, The
9. Semiotic Love
10. Cities Of Night
11. Again, Again And Again
12. Wake Up, Open the Door And Escape
To the Sea
1. Stiff Kittens
2. Between Breaths (An XX Perspective)
3. Snuff On Digital
4. Bitter For Sweet
5. Where Would You Like Them Left?
6. Fear Of Being Found, The
7. On a Friday
8. Love Letter, The
9. Semiotic Love
10. Cities Of Night
11. Again, Again And Again
12. Wake Up, Open the Door And Escape
To the Sea