Euclid C Finder — a one man project run by Michael Mehl — present some hard hitting, dissonant music on the project’s 2018, self-titled release. The record, which clocks in at only 12 minutes or so, feels both like an exploration of what makes great mathcore “great” and a worthwhile, effective effort to forge material entirely new. Throughout the chaos, there’s a consistent return to some unifying artistic principles that both functions to illuminate an artist’s signature, so to speak, and holds the release together in some capacity.
Mehl’s music feels tightly wound up. To think of the process one way, EUCLID C FINDER! feels like a much lengthier metal record was thrown through some sort of compressor that produced what we’ve not got in front of us. The release isn’t mangled or anything though so much as it’s a distillation. Through the wacky beats jumping at the listener from all directions, there’s no sense of frill or material being left over. The work feels focused, like it packs precisely the punch the artist had in mind and little to nothing else. The aforementioned short length of the record perhaps heightens this feeling, since it’s only got six tracks.
The release feels as though it places the listener firmly down and then violently shakes them right out of their comfort zone. For the right fan, that process will prove perfectly welcome. The music packs a pretty evident, tangible sense of smashing through safety and pushing the listener outside of whatever box they may have placed themselves in. There remains, again, a focus though, which proves important. The album feels the farthest thing from mindless riffing — it just requires careful and all encompassing consideration. EUCLID C FINDER! presents an experience that reaches well beyond the at times simplicity of sound.
Honestly, the record feels — especially, perhaps, after looking at the obviously thoughtful and poignant lyrics — that it derives a significant chunk of its boundary pushing power from an emotional drive. The emotions at play here include somewhat of a resigned anxiety that colors too many of our existences already. A next step though, likely remains attempting to rush into that head-on — and who knows, perhaps make some sense of it in the process — rather than hiding behind some of our favorite metaphorical walls.
5/5 Stars
Listen to the release below via Bandcamp.
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