Album Review: Carpenter Brut - Leather Temple
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
I’ve listened to this album several times now, and every time I hear something completely different, taking my mind off into many dark and intriguing places. The blend of electronic music, metal and 1980’s pop culture is weaved magically, however, there is one thing that remains constant, this is nothing short of spectacular!!!!
Franck Hueso, better known as Carpenter Brut, has delivered the final part of his “Leather” trilogy, that began with 2018’s “Leather Teeth”. This latest release, “Leather Temple” has that epic film soundtrack quality cascading through it and gives each listener a post-apocalyptic experience.
You can feel the sinister nature from the off with the big organ sounds on “Ouverture (Deus Ex Machina)”, it heightens your senses towards the dystopian future where Rebellion leader Lita Connor confronts the tyrant Iron Tusk to free the oppressed. “Major Threat” is as good as anything electronic I’ve heard in years, full of pulsating beats, that take me back to my raving days.
It's dark and malevolent yet Brut performs it in the most energetic of ways, with the arrangements positioned to add weight when necessary. The theme of vengeance flows throughout the music and hits a peak during the album title track “Leather Temple”. This is shadowy, powerful, impactful, creating a soundscape that will leave people stunned, yet is followed by “She Rules The Ruins” which is more cinematic and intense.
I can picture a fight scene, or Connor being pursued by her evil captures as this is blared out, as it’s a track brimming with a 90s synthetic pulse and industrial dynamism, that would make Trent Reznor proud. There’s no let up in the intensity either, “Start Your Engines” gets you fired up from start to finish, and the middle section is just incredible, synthwave at its finest.
For a moment, you can relax throughout “Neon Requiem” as it’s more comforting, almost as if Brut is wrapping his arms around you, and when combined with the saxophone it casts the mind back to the 80s pop culture of The Human League and Gary Numan. Conversely, the explosive straightforward sounds return on “Iron Sanctuary”, but it’s “The Misfits The Rebels” which gets me moving again. The drum and bass parts are expansive and tempestuous in nature, and when placed alongside that slower section, the beat drop is incendiary and riotous.
The relentless energy of the music is cranked up again with “Speed or Perish”, as the concept album takes us on a thrill a second journey into our tyrannical future. Once again, the mix of tempos works perfectly, and with the chilling message of “No Mercy for the Last” wrapped around the huge electronic beats, it further emphasises the talent of Brut.
“The End Complete” is a fitting title for the finale of the trilogy, and so much is squeezed into the 6 minutes. It’s sounds like a warm embrace at the end of a fierce battle, as bodies are splattered everywhere and is delivered in a sombre, more reflective manner. It builds to a huge crescendo, as any battle does, with the befitting orchestral arrangement in the right place at the right time. This is a huge piece of work from Carpenter Brut, brilliant, evocative and thought provoking. C’est magnifique.
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