Pittsburgh electronic outfit Chains of Desire announce the release of a video for “It’s not good,” from “Root Rot” which came out in late December via Private Experiment. The first video was created by J. Thompson for the track.
Chains Of Desire is a solo project of J. Thompson (Child Of Night). Thompson’s icy, echoing vocals, distorted sine waves and monotonous beats are welded together to build a highly catchy dance track that also makes your brain feel slightly fuzzy. That cacophonous reaction was by design: Thompson designed the song to be a strong alloy of synthpop and industrial, to evoke decaying electronic music. Sounding like a jaunty Kraftwerk tune that got mashed up in a trash compactor, It’s not good has its own diamond-in-the-rough sense of poetic minimalism. It’s vaguely reminiscent of the XTC classic Making Plans For Nigel is echoed in the tune, which makes the context of Chains Of Desire’s sound all the more poignant.
Thompson hails from the Rust Belt, an area of the United States that has seen cyclical devastation from the rise and fall of the steel industry and ecological travesty. The land and the people have known the pinnacle of American innovation – and its pitfalls. With every technological and corporate triumph came clouds of smog, poisoned waterways, and acid rain. (As of this writing, this very part of the country is in a state of environmental crisis with the catastrophic derailment and chemical fires, another casualty of late capitalist corner cutting.)
This track evokes that fried dystopia of the late capitalist aftermath. It is the music of abandoned factories, rusting junk yards, and tetanus shots, but with a dogged optimism.
The glitchy DIY video feels like a transmission from a late-night public access channel sometime in the early 80s; a TV Party feel coming through the airwaves, the ghosts of Big Industry’s pawns demanding we still dance.
Watch the video for “It’s Not Good” below:
Root Rot is also available on cassette via Private Experiment as a limited edition of 33 copies.
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