Industrial music is as homegrown and DIY as music gets. Yes, rock and punk may have walked so industrial could run, in that respect, but for my money, industrial has kept its wits about it since its rise. The spirit of independent music flows freely through the members of Ego Likeness, as founders Donna Lynch and Steven Archer are not only musicians with numerous ongoing projects, but also artists and writers. Outside of the music world, their work includes children’s books, tarot cards, and paintings.
On top of much of their back catalog seeing reissue via Metropolis Records, Ego Likeness has a new EP out, titled Wolves. Featuring Archer’s side project Stoneburner, as well as two remixes of their 2015 single “Darkness,” the four tracks on display here go from airy darkwave to pounding industrial at a moment’s notice, and it’s a damn fun time, all told.
Up first is an updated version of their song “Wolves,” originally from the Water to the Dead album. The song is ephemeral and ethereal, aided by reverb and Lynch’s mid-range vocals. Guitars come fuzzy and the tempo deliberate, delivering a fresh coat of paint to a great track from the band’s arsenal. Next comes a remix “Aviary,” originally from The Order of the Reptile, executed under Steven Archer’s Stoneburner label. It’s another low and slow groove, with distorted vocals and more of Lynch’s lower tones.
Stonerburner and Out Out clash for the first of two remixes of “Darkness,” a track from EL’s When the Wolves Return. The octave riff provides a solid backbone for everything else to be built off of. Where the previous two tracks have been dance floor killers, this one is bound to put asses on the floor. The Inertia remix of the same song is far more electronically-driven, and more aggressive in its execution at that. The versus remix might get a dance floor warmed up, but Inertia’s mix will tear it up. It’s hard to put one above the other,
All told, Wolves is a solid effort, taking what the band has already crafted and improving upon it. Giving a couple of older tracks a different approach vis a vis Stoneburner makes for some eclectic remixes, and if more of their material got such a treatment, I’d be in.
Wolves is available via Metropolis Records.
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