Somewhere on this record, the future is to be found. The British musician Kevin Martin, a.k.a. The Bug, has released his fourth record – and yet again, he has merged beats, dancehall, grime and dub into a dystopian tableau. Hieronymus Bosch for ears of the 21st century. Dead landscapes, providing room for obscure things to happen, far beyond the graspable. Therefore, Grouper and Gonjasufi are perfect featurers. The incredible tension within »Angels & Devils« is also shown by Death Grisps – it’s probably the greatest feat of the album that it doesn’t self-destruct at this point. »Angels & Devils« never lets you go, never throws you out, but instead invites you in: Have a fucking look, will you? »Fuck You« is using its bass to pump itself up to the seize of a monster, only to be gutted and killed by the rapper Warrior Queen. It needs more than just one listen to understand this record fully, since Kevin Martin mostly uses somewhat inconspicuous sounds, which are all the more challenging. »Pandi« is one of two tracks without a feature, but it doesn’t even work the full length through the sacral organ. It’s no epiphany, but only makes crawls to the next gate, which opens up, swallows you, wears you down. By now, the shadows have long gotten out of hands. It’s the logical progression from »London Zoo«, considering that the world has moved further toward the abyss within the last six years. You! Listener! Be happy that you’re still dangling from the tail of »Angels & Devils«. Hell is where the cities are, the streets, the people, masses and monsters. The future is nothing but the end.
Angels & Devils
