Manufactura- Presence: Into the Here and Now

Artist: Manufactura
CD Title: Presence: Into the Here and Now
Label: Crunch Pod
Reviewer: Matthew Johnson
Date: 7-20-05

Manufactura’s Karlos M.’s first album “Regression” was a rhythmic noise assault; his second, “Precognitive Dissonance,” added a few vocal tracks and introspective ambient moments to the distorted beats. On this third album, Karloz M. is more self-reflective than ever. Of the eleven tracks, ten feature vocals, and while “Sex and Suicide (Leaving Scars)” and “Control.Domination.Response” are high-BPM dance-floor killers, most of these tracks are slower and more contemplative, if still noisy. Thematically, Karloz’s lyrics focus on misanthropy and self-hatred, with “I’m the Worst Kind” exemplifying his fascination with violence, both external and self-directed. “A Killer” reveals his complicated feelings towards women through Charles Bukowski lyrics set to crunchy rhythms and electronic atmospheres, while the quieter “If I Could Only Drown Once More” and “I Float Alone,” which was adapted from a David Lynch piece, reveal the depression and self-loathing at the heart of the noisier, more aggressive moments. While Manufactura’s power noise might still be overwhelming to fans of more melodic EBM, this is perhaps Karloz’s most accessible album as well as his most mature; there’s even a straightforward club track, “Redemption,” written and programmed by Glis’s Shaun Frandsen. In any case, Manufactura was never exactly meant to be listener-friendly, and this album is darkly, miserably brilliant as long as you have the ears to hear it.

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