Bodenhex is the fourth album by Vlimmer that follows on from his series of 18 EP's, that launched Alexander Donat's now long running project. This time around he's putting a hex on anyone wearing Boden and thinking themselves cool, while the foreboding of our times comes through the apocalyptic synthwave goth maelstrom. The album comes in hand-painted sleeves with artwork created by Vlimmer housed as a box set with two previous albums on vinyl for the first time or as a numbered cd.
Bodenhex opens with the near-futuristic sounds of 2025 a dark synth elegy for the coming times filled with dread, yet hopeful that somehow things might improve, although of course my German translation is rubbish, it could be about all sort of other future dreams.
Uberrennen has furious beats pounding at your brain, gentler synths caress your mind, Alex explores the feelings he gets while feeling totally overrun by modern living and all it requires, cranky distended feelings of dystopia, closing in surrounding him. Can he escape slipping into torpor.
Vielzuviel the earlier single feels lighter, almost in need of a Vuvuzela remix, glossy synths feel seductive, chiming notes drawing you into the consequences of what could happen to anyone's daughter, harking back to the more hopeful times of the early 1980's.
Lichtbruch was the second single Vlimmer put out this year, over a deep goth club beat, gauzy synths for Alexander Donat to intone the imprecations over, threatening to build into an imperious peak, ready for a dancefloor drop that doesn't usually happen on slow thoughtful dark wave tunes.
Latenzsog has repeating drum machine, slow careful synths build around making it sound like the soundtrack for a drive through some desolate wasteland.
Endpuzzle is it the joy of finishing a particularly devilish puzzle, or the puzzle of why it feels so clearly that we are in end times, this see saws between raging electronic nastiness, more sylph like gentle passages. Then dread and fear take over in the staccato denouement, firing squad ready to let rip.
Mauerkipp was the first single from the album, central synth riff infests dark edge within, distressing noises come more to the fore in the second movement, a choir in the bowels of hell, shifting toward closer claustrophobic edge, eventual messy denouement of a despicable unthinkable horror film.
Sinkkopf slow tribalistic drumming the drilling of fraught message distilled within the space of autonomy, essential structural prop, miss them out societal collapse ensues, swells of synths hope to mesh things together to survive the maelstrom.
Mondlaufer dark moonscape synths crawl across the crater's kinder spiderlike movements.
The album closes with Fadenverlust apparently an educational podcast, I assume this song is in tribute too, enjoying the lessons in how to infinitely layer the strings, keyboards drumming intense learning swirling hypnotic beats opening minds possible bright futures appearing.
Find out more at https://blackjackilluministrecords.bandcamp.com/album/bodenhex?fbclid=IwY2xjawGgPxNleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbnKIWhkscSNCXSYnzyIQEVoaeOVxPZwmyBZGu18LhpAdZ6sF-yNRlNNWw_aem_9_SukMtfTiSUlKMuBmaZFA https://www.facebook.com/VlimmerMusic
