FACS – void moments – VINYL LP (black)

Chicago trio FACS have evolved very quickly in the span of their three years in existence. « Void Moments » is their third & latest offering; a dark & claustrophobic album with rivulets of seismic beauty peeking through the din.
Formed in the wake of the dissolution of Disappears, guitarist Brian Case & drummer Noah Leger’s project is the logical continuation of the trails blazed in their former outfit. Since their 2017 debut « Negative Houses », the band have reworked, retooled & reshaped their sound, and with the addition of bassist Alianna Kalaba on 2018’s « Lifelike », their evolution has coalesced into something distinct. Gone is the bone-rattling minimalism of « Negative Houses »; « Void Moments » offers an abstraction of the melodic elements that crept into « Lifelike » and contorts them toward a new horizon.
Where « Lifelike » rang with a metallic, near-industrial racket, « Void Moments » cloaks the music behind a black velvet curtain of sonance, obsfuscating the band’s most direct set of songs to date. « Boy » kicks off with a lurch of vocals and Case’s sinewy guitar-line guiding a stoic march. By the time Kalaba drops in with the bass, the track morphs into a milky swirl, leading into the chime of « Teenage Hive »s buzzing churn. « Casual Indifference » expertly fuses the band’s rhythmic pulse with a somber dissolve of guitars, vocals and backwards-masked drums. « Version » closes out side one with lush surges of Case’s shoegaze’d guitar & voice weaving around the rhythm section. Side two’s « Void Walker » careens in with Leger’s cavernous drums, Kalaba and Case riding alongside. The album’s final two tracks « Lifelike » and « Dub Over » cascade into one another, becoming one & act as a perfect analogy to « Void Moments » mutability, both musically & lyrically. Despite its foggy presence, « Void Moments » still careens toward the light. By embracing fluidity, FACS continue to evolve & refuse to be ensnared by genre. « Void Moments » ruminates on humanity’s increasing refusal of identity, not only via our reliance on technology, but also within our society’s challenging of societal & gender norms. « Void Moments » feels one step closer to oblivion, but its sounds are a welcome salve.