Forbidden, Sexsomnia’s last release, seems like a long time ago now (they say that a week is a long time in politics; well, a year is an aeon in music), but fear not: not only does ‘Subspace’ mark a most excellent return to the sonic fray, it also heralds a new EP to come, the intriguingly titled Raven(ous.)
If a lead single’s main task is to tempt the audience and build anticipation for that future release, consider me suitably beguiled.
And if there is much that is familiar here – the smooth, seductive nature of the sonics, the blends of analogue and digital, the dark, futuristic and otherworldly vibes – there is also plenty new, not least that rather than the boy-girl vocal interchanges of previous songs, Philip Faith embraces all vocal duties, wandering eloquently between defiance and vulnerability as he does so.
As the music washes around, an ink-black sea of sensuality and serenity, power and poise, their unique dual bass blends drive relentlessly or fire off scintillating salvos, pulse with depth-charge intensity or add melodic motifs as required, riding gracefully over a synth-washed industrial-electro beat.
‘Subspace’ is a soundtrack to hedonistic pleasures, a song that asks you to surrender completely to ultimate bliss, to sheer abandonment, to total ecstasy, though it also warns of understanding the difference between perfection and numbness.
Sexsomnia sits at the cutting edge of a musical movement that has been evolving and heading into the future for a long time, and Sexsomnia’s blend of industrial edge and darkwave excess, proto-punk experimentation, and post-punk creativity is its brilliant latest step. Add to that this astonishing video, one that blurs the lines between a traditional performance and more surreal and sensual Giger-esque filmscapes, and you have the full package. A package that is doing its bit to ensure such dark and delicious music is heading into a gloriously bright (figuratively speaking) future.
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