released March 23, 2024
Music and lyrics: Martin Bowes
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Martin
at the Cage Studios, Coventry, England. 2017 - 2023
Cover Photos by: James King
Model: Darian Kane
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A Two Gods Production
info@attrition.co.uk
www.attrition.co.uk
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ATTRITION- The Black Maria (Two Gods)
written by Patrick Bruneel /Luminous Dash
When Martin Bowes , founder of Attrition , founded in Coventry in 1980 , asks us if we would like to listen to his new record, who are we to refuse.
Especially considering that we often pushed their split with Schamanen Circel with the title Ocвoбoждeниe from 1984 through everyone's ears whenever there was even a turntable in sight. The cause was the earworm Monkey In A Bin , a song that we can still hum in our heads after all these years.
We still cherish early records such as The Attrition Of Reason (1984), Smiling, At The Hypogonder Club (1985) and At The Fiftieth Gate (1988, Antler) purely because they showcase Attrition as pioneers of darkwave and dark industrial with beats.
The collective, which often changes members, remained quite active throughout all these years, also because Bowes was able to have his say in the soundtrack world.
We are far from having or heard all their records, but when we hear that the man lists his new release as one of the best of recent years, we would like to see that confirmed. He's right, by the way. The Black Maria is a record that appeals to the imagination in which Bowes, who dedicates the record to his ex-wife and member of his band Kerri Bowes , who died far too early in 2022 , lets a series of familiar guests do their thing.
Among them was Julia Niblock Waller , whose voice we immediately recognized. She was a member of Attrition in its earliest incarnation, including Monkey In A Bin. In 1985 she left the band and played with Legendary Pink Dots for a while , only to continually return and leave afterwards.
Emke ( Black Nail Cabaret ) and Yvette ( Vaselyne ) and Joanna Wolf contribute equally well, while the grand piano is played by living legend Annie Hogan , best known for her work with Marc Almond .
Throughout the eight songs, Bowes and his companions meander through industrial, gothic, dark ambient, soundscapes and quasi-danceable wave over which lyrics are sung that approach universal themes such as love, death and life in an introspective way.
The title track is also the highlight of the album, in which all the elements that appear in the seven other pieces are merged into a very impressive whole. And behold, this is exactly the part where we can welcome the aforementioned Julia.
This is The Black Maria, a more than excellent Attrition album .
ATTRITION, "The Black Maria" Album Review
Not The Amp magazine
Industrial pioneers, Attrition, are gearing up to set another brilliant release into the world with the forthcoming album "The Black Maria". The brainchild of industry legend, Martin Bowes, Attrition continue their decades old tradition of marrying classical instrumentation with modern mechanical noise, and on "The Black Maria", it is honed to a razor's cutting edge.
The 8 tracks that make up "The Black Maria" are the audio equivalent of a surrealist artist's darkest painting, like a dream of Salvador Dali turned into music. Violins sing softly in the distance, while the bang and thrum of both drums and heavy bass vie for dominance the higher pitches of tambourines and operatic vocals. Peppering through like rivets puncturing steel are Martin's softly growled soliloquys, bringing an ambience that further haunts the aural atmosphere with his operatic counterpart.
The album ambience is set perfectly with the opener "The Promise", droning softly as both singers command the listener to "Be silent...speak when spoken to". The music shifts perfectly into the up-tempo shuffle of "The Great Derailer". Further on into the album, "The Alibi" brings a stomp-worthy energy of danceable electronics and distorted guitars to accompany a creepy viola and olde-time piano licks, something that both Rivet-heads and Steam Punks would agree to dance to.
Closing out the album is the opus of the "The Black Maria". All the elements of the previous tracks come together, for one dramatic company front, bringing the album to a satisfying conclusion that still stays with you long after the last notes fade into the ether. "The Black Maria" will be released on March 23rd, 2024, and it is well worth the wait.
Standout Track: "The Alibi".
ATTRITION - The Black Maria - album review
Midlandrocks.com
After practising their dark art for almost 45 years, you could say that Coventry darkwave band Attrition are master alchemists, and they’ve been painting the globe in glorious shades of monochrome since 1980. It’s a career that’s found them playing every gothic haunt whilst punctuating their ceaseless activity with a series of critically-acclaimed albums. Their latest long player, The Black Maria, finds the classic ‘80s line-up reunited and reigniting their old (black) magic to create a career-defining album.
With the original ‘80s configuration back together for the first time in 30 years, you might think that The Black Maria is the sound of Attrition coming full circle, yet it is more a new door opening, and that’s precisely the function that ‘The Promise’ serves. It’s a dark and disconcerting introduction, an egress to a cemetery crypt you know you shouldn’t traverse, only its pull is too strong to be denied; but be warned, once you’re in there’s no getting out. ‘The Great Derailer’ is the opener proper and it was also the title-track to the band’s 2020 EP. It’s a truly haunting piece of music, and no matter how many times I hear it, it never fails to raise the hairs on my arms. It is (like the whole album) darkly cinematic and casts a spell over the listener in a way that only the best horror films can.
There are several vocalists employed on this album including Emke (Black Nail Cabaret), Elisa Day (Hetaira Decrépita) and Yvette (Vaselyne), yet the biggest revelation is original singer Julia. Like a medium at a séance, Julia seems to channel the soul of a departed (and possibly tortured) spirit, and her contribution to this record is very organic (a darkwave scat, if you will) and makes a fine counterpoint to the samples and surgical synths. None of these eight tracks inhabit a similar sonic space, but if there’s one thing that stitches it all together, it’s Julia’s wail wending its way through the album like a ghost across desolate moors.
Attesting to the band’s vintage, The Black Maria never feels forced or rushed, and the band take all the necessary time to build discombobulating soundscapes. Neither do Attrition feel the need to scrawl their sound on every surface; they know when to step back and bring certain instruments to the fore, case in point being ‘The Reprisal’. A kind of Kraftwerk on downers, ‘The Reprisal’ stands naked and in stark contrast to the rest of the album, but in the arc of The Black Maria it makes perfect sense. It’s the title-track that brings the album to a conclusion, and just like a brutalist structure in their native Coventry, it’s a monolithic beast that’s constructed in the worship of some strange deity.
Welcome (back) to the dark side.
ATTRITION - The Black Maria - Album review
melodicmachinations.blogspot.com
The Black Maria by British Darkwave pioneer group ATTRITION, is a haunting and immersive album that takes listeners on a journey through the shadows of the human experience. With a diverse range of styles, from industrial to gothic to dark ambient and a hint of nostalgia the album showcases the band’s versatility and depth. The first track “The Promise” is an atmospheric track that lyrically delves into the themes of surrender and silence with whispered vocals adding to the overall sense of foreboding expectation. “The Great Derailer” intertwines, snippets of political speech and the voices of disillusioned and concerned citizens. The juxtaposition of the dark, ambient melodies with the harsh industrial beats mirrors the conflict between hope and despair that often accompanies political discourse. Delving deep into the intricate dynamics of human relationships “The Switch“ has a hypnotic beat with seductive and provocative vocals. “Pillars II” is an enthralling track that has melodic female vocals weaving beautifully with the layered ambient acoustic panorama. The dreamlike mood and undulating soundscape of the song create a sense of introspection. “The Alibi” is a daring and unconventional musical journey that defies expectations at every turn. The song begins with a childlike, almost off-kilter rendition of "Here Comes the Bride," setting the stage for what unfolds as a cacophony of sounds and delicious chaos. The listener is swept up in a frenetic and confusing carnival-like atmosphere. The song, that is a riot of sounds, takes yet another unexpected turn, as a cacophony of vocals joins the mix, adding to the sense of chaos and confusion. The result is a wild and exhilarating musical ride that leaves the listener both exhilarated and slightly disoriented. From the moment “The Reprisal” begins you get the sense of something lurking just beyond sight, something watching and waiting. As the song unfolds, strange sounds and voices interject, adding to the sense of unease and paranoia evoking the notion of the presence of something just out of reach. The song builds creating a palpable sense of tension and suspense that is as thrilling as it is unnerving. “The Zero Hour” hauntingly blends Darkwave ambience and industrial sounds with beautiful menacing piano melodies and an enigmatic spoken soliloquy. The mysterious ambience and vocals of the song blur the lines between past, present, and future hinting at something just beyond the listener’s grasp. The title track of the album “The Black Maria” begins with chilling muffled industrial sounds creating a sense of unease and foreboding. Haunting high-pitched vocal floats eerily around the listener, creating a sense of disorientation and uncertainty. The gritty and dark male vocals seem to be giving a desolate sermon giving the sense of something lurking just beyond reach that is dark and malevolent.
The album The Black Maria traverses the depths of the human soul and is sure to resonate with anyone who has loved, lost and found beauty in the darkness.