Recoil
subHuman

Alan Wilder is back, a full seven years after his last Liquid, with a work that takes another step down the road of experimentation, this time diving into the soul of a raw and edgy blues, which speaks to current and pressing themes: intolerance, discrimination, the death penalty, religious conflicts. The sub-human is the cruelest aspect of our nature: it hides under the mask of civilization to explode in the most ferocious and dramatic episodes that have corroded the world for millennia.

A brief digression on the Recoil project is necessary.

Alan Wilder, a key member of Depeche Mode from 1982 to 1995 - known for being the meticulous "sound surgeon" serving the British band - began producing his first solo works, characterized by experimental electronic music interspersed with pleasant ambient moments, already in the late '80s.
1992 was the year of his first masterpiece, Bloodline, a more experimental version of Modian electronics in the style of Violator, with a brilliant innovation that made Recoil one of the most followed projects in niche circles. Wilder collaborated on that occasion with singers such as Douglas McCarthy of Nitzer Ebb, Toni Halliday of Curve, and the then almost unknown Moby.
Unsound Methods (1997) and Liquid (2000) only further demonstrate the more electronic/experimental vein of the London musician, who manages to synthesize the major trends of the '90s (ranging from hallucinated trip-hop to sophisticated electro-funk, while the use of spoken word grows and the allure of jazz atmospheres matures).

In subHuman, Wilder opts for the blues, but not with the intent of creating a pure pastiche.

The sound of this album is raw, gritty, and hard, reminiscent in some episodes of the electro-rock of Songs Of Faith And Devotion, but at the same time managing to engage in what Wilder loves most: experimental passages, rich in references (art-rock, rock/blues, psychedelic rock), hypnotize the listener, while a succession of loops and sophisticated effects contribute to creating what the British musician calls "film music."
It cannot be denied that technology has always been his greatest muse and that at the same time a meticulous attention to detail and an exhausting search for the most original sound have made Wilder one of the most appreciated musicians. He himself recently stated that he had to reacquaint himself with new technologies since in a span of five years he had forgotten almost everything.

Wilder himself does not like to define himself as an "electronic musician," but rather as "someone who makes good use of technology."

His eclectic openness to various musical genres has led him to collaborate with blues singer Joe Richardson, author of five tracks on this album and a highly skilled musician who contributed the ideas on which Wilder built his pieces. After completing the first phase of production, Alan went to Texas, near Austin, where Richardson’s band played every track. Wilder greatly appreciated this session and the album thus took on a new direction, in which played music merges with a technological pastiche.

'Prey', the first single released, is a good bluesy rock track well-suited for visual interpretation, as is '5000 Years,' based on religious conflicts, in which the old southern jazz is tinged with rock, with a suggestive finale marked by bombs, soldiers' screams, tribal choirs, and disenchanted voices that seem to belong to journalists or politicians - likely that the latter are sampled.
'The Killing Ground' is a great track where Joe Richardson's guitar blues blends into a trip-hop atmosphere dominated by slide guitar, organ, and strings.
The best track is probably '99 To Life', which talks about capital punishment - specifically a real experience involving a friend of Richardson’s. An explosive, fierce electro-rock piece that never falls into the banal, supported by a fine bass line and an excellent drum session.
'Backslider' is the last rock/blues piece on the album, where the listener's attention is captured by an engaging loop and a distinctly American folk flavor.
Within the album, there are two other tracks that break Richardson’s "blues line." These are 'Allelujah' and 'Intruders,' featuring British singer Carla Trevaskis. In the first, we find an ethereal atmosphere that strongly recalls, in sound, Depeche Mode’s Songs Of Faith And Devotion (Wilder doesn't hesitate to readapt a sound he created for Modian's 'In Your Room'). 'Intruders' is a slow, dreamy track where Trevaskis’ voice becomes hypnotic, like the instrumental final part of the track itself, almost a refined suite echoing progressive and psychedelic rock references, and, as Wilder himself states, a homage to King Crimson.

SubHuman is nothing less than yet another masterpiece by the British musician, an album that, despite appearances, transcends the logic of art for art’s sake, to speak to the world through a voice, but also through sounds.