- Acteurs' second release for the London label Public Information follows their self-titled mini-LP from last year. I W I is in a similar vein to Acteurs, but more amorphous, the duo largely eschewing hooks in favour of ever more sombre atmospheres and swampy textures.
The opener "Pride Of Classes" sets the tone with a tense, pulsing rhythm and deadpan vocals that dissipate into a thick haze. Distorted screams and drones mark the track like cobwebs, but even so, its power comes from the space between the sounds, a yawning expanse that poses an ambiguous threat. "Ewe" gives verbal form to Acteurs' dark playfulness, with low vocals punning on the titular homonym amid squelches of feedback and static. It's bewildering stuff, claustrophobic and caked in electronic muck.
Opening with a two-note figure, "Honey Bear" quickly disintegrates into something dank and insular, its atmosphere thickened with drones, growling feedback and ominous spoken vocals. "River Card" and the title track are more structured but no less evocative. The former achieves an intense atmosphere with little more than a two-word refrain and bleak dub chords plastered in echo, while "I W I"'s dry drums and snatches of vocals and noise seem to collapse in on themselves.
TracklistA1 Pride Of Classes
A2 Ewe
B1 Honey Bear
B2 River Card
B3 I W I