From Louder Than War: Human Impact: Gone Dark
Human Impact: Gone Dark
LP/CD/DL
Out Now
Noise Rock super-group, Human Impact, return with their second LP, Gone Dark, four years after their Covid-busting debut. Sean Millard introduces his Nan to the future sound of the apocalypse and gives her something to talk about at the bingo.
Woah.
Hang on. Let me catch my breath.
One sec…
Right:
When Human Impact released their eponymous debut LP, moments before the world shut down in 2020, it was exciting news. After all, this is a Noise Rock super-group consisting of genuine luminaries. Chris Spencer from Unsane and Jim Coleman of Cop Shoot Cop formed the hub around which Phil Puleo and Chris Pavdica (both from Swans) thumped and boomed.
So why then, was the debut slightly anti-climactic?
Because all the elements were there; industrial-inspired beats, noises and squeals, bowel-opening bass and Spencer’s unmistakable rage and guitar bends. It should have been more than just OK. The excitement of the moment kept the album alive for a while, but it’s not something I think or returning to often. Next, a comp of singles was released, a year or so later. Again – good – no complaints, but not really classic. Not everything can be. Nevertheless, such is the optimism of my condition, when it was announced that the band were releasing a new LP, again on Ipecac, it excited me signifcantly. The potential and the personnel are there to make something mind-blowing. Except they’re not. The personnel, that is. Called away on another tour of duty for Swans, Puleo and Pavdica couldn’t commit to the time required to write, record and tour something new with Human Impact, so they went their separate ways.
Don’t worry, Nan – they’re all still friends.
Thankfully, Chris Spencer had been doing some extra-curricular jamming in Austin, Texas with Eric Cooper, bass player of Neurot’s magnificently sludge-bound Made Out Of Babies, and Jon Syverson, High Commander of Mentalist Beats in Ipecac’s own Daughters. Consequently, the new play-pals scooched into place comfortably, and so the band could respond to Ipecac’s request for a new LP.
And how.
Lord Lum. I don’t know if it’s the input of the new guys, the method and time they took on the detail of the writing, or that Andrew Schneider’s production work is sonically fantastic – clear and spacious but distorted as f**k – but Hoo-Har – Human Impact have delivered on the promise of their potential, and then some.
Put your teeth back in, Nan.
Of course, it’s the sum of the parts, and not just one single thing, that’s tightened them up, given them punch and exposed a nascent musicality to their unrelenting noise. It has made Gone Dark, quite frankly, incredible. All of the component pieces are present, but they’ve been tweaked and moved around enough to deliver solidity from start to end. It’s exciting.The band are often labelled with an industrial tag.
I object, Your Honour.
There are industrialised elements to their cacophony; there are samples kicking off left and right. Squalls, drones, hisses and pips form soundscapes and interludes between songs. The drums are relentless – but, note – NOT machine-like – they are actually really human – Syverson is a tub-thumping genius. Chris Spencer’s guitar will always have a metallic clang to it. But anyone expecting knuckle-dragging Ministry riffage, NIN’s whey-faced emotional machinery or Pharmakon’s white noise will be disappointed.
This is an evolution of Noise Rock. It’s a sound that doesn’t belong in the 90s like many of their peers. It’s a sound that has pushed the underground genre into a vista of new expectations. It’s not retrogressive or harking backwards. It beckons the future with a comely middle finger. It is intricate, bludgeoning, harsh, ferocious, delicate.
I think it might be art, Nan.
There are a couple of stand-out tracks to mention, but truly – Gone Dark is back-to-back bangers. Take a look and listen to opener Corrupted here:
Hold On, the second song, with its lurching guitars and awkward drums is ace. There’s so much texture in the spaces between the beats and the way the entire band escalates towards the song’s climax is thrilling. Therefore it’s easy to see what Spencer means when he says they caught their live sound. It’s raw. Naturally, that doesn’t mean no frills or just banged out though. There’s so much going on – and as the song crashes to an end on a double snare slam, all that remains is a sampled whine – rapturous but all alone.
Rather like you, Nan.
I could close my eyes and pick any other one to expound upon, but I’ll go with album closer Lost All Trust, because it contrasts well with the preceding tracks. It’s a 4/4 stomper. Spencer is screaming his lungs dry, and the stop/start riff of the chorus recalls prime-time Helmet in its space and swing. The verse rolls and whinnies and breaks into a bridge of fast strummed noise – all the time pinned down by the grizzly growl of Cooper’s bass. Cor.
Do you need a new pad, Nan?
With Gone Dark, Human Impact have really delivered on the dream. Perhaps my expectations were too high or misguided for their debut. It could easily be the case. But whatever the reason – that was then and this now – and now – right now – I’m going dark. I may be some time.
Don’t wait up, Nan.
Made Out Of Babies on Bandcamp
All words by Sean Millard