Genre/Influences: EBM, dark-electro, cross-over.
Background/Info: Claus Larsen strikes back with a new full length under the Klutæ moniker. I always have experienced this project set up in the early 90s as a sonic lab where the Danish musician could exorcise all the sonic ideas he couldn’t use for Leather Strip.
Content: “Black Piranha” takes off with a solid and somewhat old-styled EBM track. The influences are progressively moving from dark-electronics towards electro-punk and other industrial influences. It’s not that much of a coincidence that one of the remixes by Needle Sharing walks on the path of harsh d’n’b.
You for sure will recognize some similarities in sound (like the bass lines and some rhythms) and vocals with Leather Strip, but this project is for sure more ‘uncontrolled’. I also have to say a word about the lyrical content, which mixes provocation and fun, but once more reminding us Claus Larsen is a man with a meaning and an eye kept on our world.
Both last songs are remixes by Needle Sharing and Spark!
+ + + : Claus Larsen confirms to be an artist with a wide spectrum of influences. He has the genius to compose alluring EBM, but still heavier and somewhat hardcore driven pieces. Klutæ is somewhat punkish and definitely unusual. It doesn’t take away that all work of this project always features a few noticeable cuts. I also enjoyed some lyrical parts and especially the passage, which clearly sounds like a big ‘fuck you’ to Trump. Claus Larsen remains an engaged musician with a very own way to express his ideas.
– – – : I’m often missing coherence between the songs, but that’s precisely a part of Klutæ. Everything is possible, but it always has to remain hard and punchy. That’s probably why some ‘softer’ cuts can’t totally convince me.
Conclusion: Every single Klutæ-album has something apart from its predecessor, but in the end you always recognize the typical elements this project is dealing with; merciless and without compromises!
Best songs: “Wake Up The Punks”, “Insect King”, “The Wire & The Cuffs”.
Rate: (7).
