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Violens, ‘Amoral’ (Friendly Fire/Static Recital)

Violens mastermind Jorge Elbrecht wants listeners to imagine his band’s art-pop debut as a Lynchian dream. Indeed, Amoral is macabre, idea-stuffed, and often distressing, but what it most shares with Mulholland Drive‘s creator is a logic that’s impossible to follow. The songs muddle twee pop with forced dissonance (“Full Collision”), Roxy Music soul with ugly nü-metal grind (“Are You Still in the Illusion?”), and pretentious post-rock with inexplicable spoken word (“Amoral”). Ultimately, it’s the stuff of a common nightmare–creepily thrilling, but not worth reliving.