Contact - Pharmakon

And here is the long awaited unusual review we've been teasing you about all day! I can already tell you, although I'm sure you'll have already guessed by the album cover, this is not an album for the faint hearted. Contact is a grotesque take on the transcendence of our physical bodies. Known for her unique live performances, Margaret Chardiet is the woman behind Pharmakon, and this album marks the ten year anniversary of the project. The cover has already made us incredibly uncomfortable, and that's before we've even begun to listen to the 'death industrial' music held within. But sometimes the most incredible things are those that evoke a powerful emotion, so we're definitely going into this with an open mind! Let's get right down to it!

Our wonderfully superb ratings system awaits you below!

1 - Shouldn't have been recorded

2 - Filler

3 - Above average filler

4 - Killer

5 - Career defining masterpiece

Track 01 - Nakedness of Need

John - 3/5

Tilly - 2/5

Track 02 - Sentient

John - 3.5/5

Tilly - 4/5

Track 03 - Transmission

John - 2.5/5

Tilly - 2.5/5

Track 04 - Sleepwalking Form

John - 2/5

Tilly - 4/5

Track 05 - Somatic

John - 3.5/5

Tilly - 2.5/5

Track 06 - No Natural Order

John - 2/5

Tilly - 2.5/5

Conclusion

John - Let me just say that if I were rating this from my actual enjoyment of it, it would be receiving a 1. Noise music just isn't for me I'm afraid. The actual instrumentals weren't the problem - it's just that Chardiet's vocals are bit of an acquired taste. I do very much appreciate this album though, don't get me wrong. Each track made sense, especially Sleepwalking Form, which perfectly encaptured the feeling of staggering around sleepwalking. Sentient was the best track on the album for me however. I found it oddly relaxing, maybe verging on trance-like. In my opinion, it embodies the record - technically very, very good, but at it's best when no vocals are present.

I'll be giving this a 3. A strong album, well produced, well put together, and one that I'm sure fans of the genre will enjoy. But be warned - Pharmakon's music is not for the faint of heart!

Overall Score - 3/5

Tilly - I'm no expert on noise music, so take this review with a pinch of salt. Pharmakon's Contact album was mental. Not necessarily in a bad way. Her vocals are at times - okay, the majority of the time - off-putting, aside from on Sleepwalking Form where I do feel like they added something special. Vocally, she oddly reminds me - and please forgive me, fans of the noise genre - of Maria Brink from rock band In This Moment. In fact, at times it genuinely could have been her. I did find the songs without her 'singing' a lot better, and a lot more listenable I guess? Which I know is not exactly the main goal when creating a noise album. Overall Contact was a technically good record, but not one that I will ever, ever play again. 

Overall Score -3/5

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