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Reviewed by Ricardo Kerr

Minderbender: Emotions

Reviewed by Ricardo Kerr

Minderbender: Emotions

Are you after an album that will scratch your post-punk itch while still bringing something new to the table? Look no further than this debut from the duo of Kieran Brown and Michael van Dyk, known as Minderbender.

The band took their stage name from Joseph Heller’s arch satire Catch 22 and it’s not hard to see how appropriate the handle is. This is the sound of de-constructed rock and roll angst being filtered through the almighty machine in the sky. It is rough, raw and engaging, the electronic music flair buried in these tunes makes them more than a little bit dangerous.

As the title suggests, each track is themed after an emotion (or state of mind). This gives the album a loose and purposefully disjointed feeling and you are ricocheted from one idea to the next.

Just compare the rubbery swing of Amnesia to the all-consuming static on Trepidation. Beating away at the heart of each song is a drum machine and an enormous swathe of loops and pedals. Once you layer the organic element of guitar, bass and the human voice, you have something special on your hands.