Modern Technology’s Immersive Sludgy Noise Rock Sends The Listener For A Spin

London’s Modern Technology sound sneakily but dangerously furious, like a jolt of electricity to the arm that we all need once in awhile. Their music paints a dismal but comprehensible portrait, like they’ve somehow captured an aerial view of some given swath of humanity when it’s most covered by the suffocating smog we ourselves have created. Like most enthralling tunes, the band’s debut, self-titled EP doesn’t fit into any easy boxes, and instead, it starts out on a high note and never really comes down. It’s clear that the musicians behind this work know their way around music to the point of being able to bend conventions in this way.

Musically, they’re familiar and sinister and twisted at the same time, which lends greatly towards the overall picture of the record. Their music at times feels like straightforward noise rock like you might find with a band like The Jesus Lizard, and at other times — or often at the same time — they sound like some of the heaviest sludge metal you can imagine. On top of this maelstrom, vocalist Chris Clarke sounds like he’s singing for a visceral post-punk band, which adds greatly to the transformative scope of their material.

Overall, they’ve injected a noise rock framework with a grimy sense that drags it down, but not at all to the music itself’s detriment. They’re simply painting a grim but necessary picture.

Their music itself both conveys a sense of being thoroughly worn out with the trampling excesses of the modern world and just how pervasive the dangers in those excesses are. In other words, the songs tell an almost surprisingly comprehensive and immersive story that’s all too familiar to anyone who’s paid attention to what the hell is going on. Lyrically, Clarke shares various snapshots of separate components of our modern consumerist hell, while the breadth of the band’s music adds an important somewhat inescapable depth to their work.

Ultimately, Modern Technology feel determinedly conscious of the world around them. Anyone who looks around for long will see exactly where their music fits in, functioning like a method for awareness of what’s really going on.

5/5 Stars

Listen below via Bandcamp and check out a video for one of the tracks.

The EP is available on tape, with all profits going to charity.