Letzte Ausfahrt Leben, female-powered act from Germany, presents her sophomore album for Raumklang – and it comes as quite a surprise: The musical scope is much extended, successfully fusing the repetitive rhythm noise of her well-received debut with a wealth of ambience, downbeats and subtly nuanced composition. Female artists are regrettably a rare occurrence in hard rhythmic music, but Nina has established herself in the scene properly as a devoted producer, promoting herself and friends via her own netlabel. In 2014 her Raumklang debut “Mirrage” (and the accompanying remix album) propelled her into the spotlight and got her a number of live bookings as well.
On “Without Control” slow, crackling rhythms seething with distortion like venomous serpents meet dark cinematic atmospheres for a unique interpretation of the rhythm noise genre. It all has a very personal handwriting, a distinct female subtlety. Nina uses prominent sounds to brand her tracks: Organic, ritual downbeats on “From the Inside”, oriental sounds on “Fragment” and “Desert Flower” and plaintive strings on the Enigma-tic “Obsession”, interacting smoothly with the coarseness of “Burn Out” or “Monotonie”. Abrasive, mechanical beats dominate the title track or “Déjà vu Effect”, a brisk crossover of industrial and doomcore.
“Without Control” is one of those rare albums that manage to draw from a variety of influences but combine those into a coherent, immersive listening experience. It constantly oscillates between the enjoyable and the unsettling, and remains enthralling throughout!