By Keith Walsh
With full immersion into improvisational lo-fi, using only a small battery of synths and drum machines, Latex Cop seeks to satirize the very genre it presents. Privacy Policy is the debut album from Sara Storm’s Latex Cop project.
Fans of Storm’s other project, Nail Club, will find that Privacy Policy, released on her own Optik Muzak label, traverses similar territory. Everything about these projects is postmodern, absurd and ironic. As a student of film and criminology (an actual student, not the kind who Googles), Storm combines her skills for minimalistic electronic music with social commentary. In the case of Privacy Policy, Storm presents issues around penal systems, including views gleaned from her favorite philosopher, Michel Foucault and his book Birth Of A Prison. (For more on this, please read my Q and A with Storm at Popular Culture Beat).
Storm’s lyrics are often whispered and/or distorted (the reasons for which she explains in the new interview at Popular Culture Beat). Nevertheless, the titles of the songs give an idea of what’s going on. Storm’s instruments of choice are a couple of combination of synths in Korg’s Minilogue series, a Korg drum machine and a vintage Tascam cassette recorder.
Track By Track
“Seduction Of The State” has a bass heavy beat with Storm’s whispered vocals, “In The Field” features atonal melodies over a square wave pulsing bass line and analog drums from the Korg Volca, along with her echoey, mangled vocals. “Last Decoy” has a funky sequenced bassline, electronic jungle beats, echoey vocals. “Arrest 1” has a 70s cop show vibe, while “Arrest 2” is more of an early 80s sounding electronic ditty. Lots of obscured vocals on both, as if Storm is giving commands over a bullhorn across a prison yard. “Numb In The Waiting Room” effectively conveys the nightmare experience of that situation.
“We Know Where You Live” induces anxiety, with unpredictable beats as Storm portrays some kind of bureaucrat issuing a routine warning and includes a phone recording she made of reaching an automated message while hoping to resolve a personal issue. “Development” is somewhat proggy, with a trippy sequenced passage augmented by echo, hinting at the mysteries of human growth and change. “Arrest 3” dispenses with the glitzy police show drama. Instead, it’s a dark, machinelike dirge reflecting the tragedy and trauma of repeated incarcerations. “What’s Right?” asks the question that anyone in a position of influence might want to ask oneself when deciding on a course of action. It’s suitably pensive, with a pulsing synth beat, like Giorgio Moroder in a contemplative state of mind before heading out to another night at the disco.
“Receiver” is 20 decibels louder than “What’s Right.” Combined with the atonal melody and unsettling drum beats and vocals, the volume is anxiety producing – but only in a fun “we’re simulating the terror of prison” way. “Arrest 4” is a strange, humming piece, an experimental noise rock track, reflecting perhaps police radio static, as well as the resignation and disappointment of a lifetime of incarceration. “Theory” is a capstone that starts off invoking silence but then gets poppy and energetic, but not without echoed vocals and implied sonic references to a technological society, viewed as heartless and utilitarian. Storm’s obscured vocals are the most sympathetic sounding on the album, on this track. I haven’t had access to her lyrical records (though I asked), and “Theory” is the one I’m most curious about. The live track “With You” takes a slightly skewed version of a commercial song title and chord progression to present a dark take on relationships. Again, I don’t know what the lyrics are, but the effect is somewhat chilling.
Q And A
Given the passion and energy behind Latex Cop (as well as Nail Club) I asked Storm if perhaps she might ever move on to full-on high fidelity recordings. “I do feel as if I am stuck in the ‘lo-fi’ parameters,” she writes, “because using my four track is like having an extension of my body. A computer feels completely unnatural to me and there’s the fear that I will lose everything. So, a lot of that sound comes from using a very well loved Tascam and is not at all intentional.” (My complete interview with Storm is at Popular Culture Beat).
Latex Cop On Bandcamp
Nail Club On Bandcamp
Optik Muzak On Bandcamp
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