Autovon- Conform

Artist: Autovon
CD Title: Conform
Label: Self-Released
Reviewer: Matthew Johnson
Date: 8-9-05

The debut full-length from Autovon takes an interesting approach by sucking you in and getting you all riled up with crunchy EBM beats and distorted vocals, then pulling the rug out from under you as the chorus gets all soft and synthpop. “Fix You” is the closest thing to consistent; though it never ramps the aggression up all the way, it stays tense with fast whispered lyrics that bounce back and forth across the stereo channels. “Hospice” is bouncy but darker, laced with blasts of static and clean, cool vocals that evoke a sort of hopelessness, while “Atonia” starts out minimal and retro but builds into a fuller, more harmonic chorus. “No Reaction” is probably the weakest of the bunch; it starts out with a promising noisy buzz but goes soft in the middle, with vocals that are not only absent any emotional impact but are off-key as well. The vocals on “Dirty Little Secrets” are also a bit strained, but layered and mixed well enough to make up for it. To make up for the rough spots, this album also includes four brilliant remixes of “Fix You.” Gencab’s mix adds a bunch of analog blips to the track’s more modern sound, while Panzer Division and Terrorfakt each contribute harsh techno-influenced versions of the song. Finishing the disc out is Scrape DX’s mix, an extended version of the song that adds rhythmic noise crunchiness and a more complicated series of drum machine patterns. Between the perky synths of the original tracks and the power noise stomp of the remixes, Autovon has a little something for everyone; unfortunately, though, not everyone is going to enjoy listening to this album from start to finish.

Check out Autovon at https://autovon.org.