The new collaboration between Intensive Care and The Body sounds like a synergetic effort between the natural and the cultural, between man’s former tribal periods and man-made (post-)industrial successes. One might venture to guess which side they might favor but the question remains whether their choice is the one that matters the most in a genre where the input of every single listener changes its sound immensely.
First of all, it should be made clear that all four people collaborating on this record have a background in Hardcore or Punk bands be it The Endless Blockade, a Powerviolence band from Toronto which featured Andrew and Ryan from Intensive Care or various Arkansas Emo/Hardcore outfits like Class of 84 featuring The Body’s Lee Buford or Full Service Quartet or Hundred Years War which both shared Chip King as a member. This bit of information will become important a bit later one.
One should not expect to get a record that would be clean, easily understandable and quickly digestible if these two bands collaborate, as both have a common interest in how far the sound can go or also how to take apart and rearrange things – note that for this record they also used a technique made famous through Houston’s HipHop scene: Chopped and Screwed, where certain parts are cut up, slowed down or sped up in order to create very unique soundscape that overlap and counteract each other. If you then understand that the Body gave the two guys from Intensive Care musical part to work with and rearrange the process and also the immense wall of power electronics meets harsh noise become clearer; for a good example listen to ”Unwanted” when Sludgey noise walls are slowed down in the lower sections and a flute-like synth-line is sped up and floating above the mud. Like lighting a beautiful candle over the swamps of Louisiana; which might not be the best idea as the gases coming up from the swamp might lead to an explosion, on the other hand that explosiveness might also be a good connection to describe Was I Good Enough?.
Now, why did I mention the Hardcore connection? Well, if there is one thing that Hardcore is often known for, then it’s the gang shouts amongst other things. And I am 100% sure that some of the vocal lines on the first three tracks ”Mistakes have been Made”, “Swallowed by the God” and </i>”The Misunderstanding”</i>, in all their ‘crunkiness’ will be shouted out by members of the audience if these tracks are performed live. As these lines seemingly have no clear vocals, any kind of vocal rendition is nothing but “harmonizing” word-less chants – and that leads me to the connection to the primal/tribal state of human existence before any kind of man-made creation. Simple. Pure. Relatable. When you then compare with the clearer lines, for example with the repeated accusation ”Mistakes have been made” on the opening track, you will see how these guys criticize the cultural side of human existence. (By the way, the open mind and ear of both bands when it comes to collaborations is of course also somewhat of a remnant of the open attitude often connected with Hardcore and Punk music). Hence, this is maybe an explanation why the idea of the dichotomy of nature vs culture is an important aspect for this record and surely it can be connected to the HipHop technique mentioned above. Instead of letting the parts run their normal (natural) cause they are being deconstructed culturalized so to speak.
One track that we should mention here is the last one - ”Mandelbrot Anamnesis” - a nearly 11-minute long nightmare of a track featuring a heavy dose of Harsh Noise during the penultimate part of the track which is absolute bonkers and really hard to digest. However that wound is then soothed a bit with the outro of the track which takes it time (nearly a minute) but that is surely necessary because otherwise the audience might be hyped-up too much, ready to burst!
Was I Good Enough? is another highlight in both bands’ discographies, works perfectly and showcases how four people can use different ideas and processes in order to create something utterly brilliant without compromising the art of any person involved. This might be the soundtrack to the end of the world or the audio-spark to rethink our positions on it. No matter how you perceive it – you will not be leave unchanged.
