Aion Records (label)
30 July 2018 (released)
30 July 2018
The Gorerunner EP follows up 2016's self-titled album which featured predominantly danceable beats and slick vocals to make an electronica-infused, club-friendly kind of industrial. On this latest record, Jane In Space has become unhinged throwing down bombastic, in your face drums, more abrasive compressed vocals, and cathartic, noisy guitars.
'Little Raurus' sets the album off with a glitched-out beat and standard glib dialog sample. The twitchy verse gets bulldozed by a tsunami of dense distorted guitar accompanied by vocals that recall Perry Farrell at his heaviest. His singing surfs fluidly over the riffy deluge of guitar. In a snap transition, Jane In Space switches gears to their more dance-oriented material. 'Eat Your Face's synth lead will pop right out to Depeche Mode fans, baring a striking sonic resemblance to the keyboard lead of Violator's opener. This combined with the dark single note piano lines, punchy minimalist drums and distortion bubbling over guitars make this song a direct descendant of the British synth-pop titans' early 90s works. Rounding out the first half of the album, 'Full Stop' is a brooding, plodding crawl through the mud.
The album hits its pop pinnacle with the quasi-ballad 'Breaking Glass'. Jane In Space leaves behind the glitchy beats and other industrial tropes to deliver a piano-led piece with wistful vocals and the tom-heavy drums that have become synonymous with emotionally significant tracks. The song tells of the constructs of modern success and whether you can find freedom in that success or freedom in the letting go of the need for it. The album's title track has the barren verses of a Tricky song, swelling to a throbbing, run through the jungle scenario to finish it off. 'Through the Vines' again employs scooped-out programmed drums and buzzing, stomping soundscapes to take the album to its sprawling, noisy conclusion.
Gorerunner is an album for fans of industrial's gritty, emotionally stirring subgenre. An album made for reflection rather than cyber club dancing. If Nine Inch Nails artistic masterpiece is a favourite of yours, then the latest effort from Jane In Space is definitely speaking your language.
