EDITORS’ PICK: REIN - Reincarnated
Written by KIZUNAUTREINCARNATED is the debut album from the Swedish singer, songwriter, producer and label owner REIN.
Kicking off her career in 2016 with self-titled EP and following through with the Freedoom EP in 2017, Rein has since amassed positive critical reception in her home country. Her hard-edged, explicitly anti-authoritarian music has drawn influences from various styles, including oldschool EBM a la Nitzer Ebb, but also electro house and techno. With Reincarnated she offers a more polished, futuristic take on these influences that nevertheless makes no compromises.
As with her previous efforts, it’s hard to pin this album to a single genre, but stylistically the album leans more heavily on oldschool EBM influences than the previous Freedoom EP. You can also hear bits of electro, techno and even rave, but also influences from modern pop and dance. These elements are woven together expertly and seamlessly. EBM-basslines are joined by sharp synth stabs or futuristic arps which occasionally give way to brief atmospheric moments before picking up energy again. Rein uses the compositional trick of switching to an entirely different type of bassline for the chorus to great effect. A verse might present a more EBM-influenced bassline, while the chorus might take influence from darker strands of dance music or synthpop.
There are two tracks on the album which notably deviate from this quite EBM-influenced formula. Closer to Reality is a more synthpop-influenced number with an electro-type of synthetic backbeat that recalls certain pieces of late 80s and early 90s pop while maintaining the type of futuristic darkness that permeates the whole album. Dystopia is a more atmospheric piece which replaces the snare drum for a sharp click for the verses, returning to more familiar percussive pattern for the more energetic choruses. Lush synth pads and simple, but wonderful, minor key synth arps dominate the sonic landscape.
Despite obvious influences from the past, the overall presentation is very modern and sharp. The sound is pristine, clean and powerful. Kick drums hit with surgical precision, the basses nail just the right frequencies, the saw-synths are fat, and the synth stabs strike with power. The mix is percussive and very bassline and kickdrum forward, with everything else, even Rein’s voice taking back seat to these rhythmic elements.
But there’s more to the album than just raw, pushing rhythms. There’s very real attention to details. Modulations in the basslines, wonderful use of reverb, percussive and atmospheric elements looming in the background and rhythmic hooks loaning from contemporary styles of electronic music give life to compositions that could have otherwise been quite static or bare. Rein is also very good at using tension and release to give the tracks life. The tracks don’t just steamroll at one even pace, one even volume from start to end but have quieter and louder moments. The overall production is a major step-up from her previous releases.
Rein displays a very varied vocal range on the album, from straight up screaming to more subdued or deadpan styles, to more melodic singing which ranges from darker, even somewhat bluesy lines to a brighter, pop-like delivery on Closer to Reality. There are also moments where she uses heavily gated or delayed vocals for effect, and few moments with more abstract melodic singing which reminded me a bit of Grimes. Overall, her delivery is very good and more varied than in her previous works. I wouldn’t have minded if the vocals would have been just a tiny bit, just that one nudge of slider more front of the mix in some of the tracks.
Lyrically the album is dominated by themes of escaping domination and re-establishing control over your own life. These themes are continuation to anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist and feminist points of view expressed in hear earlier work, though here these themes are much more subtle. Here the calls to cast off dominant structures often also feels like a call to cast off inhibitions in the dance floor, perhaps best seen in the chorus of Reactivity.
New to this album are the various dystopian and futuristic images Rein calls upon. Closer to Reality directly references Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and Dystopia paints a hopeless picture of people being hunted by drones. Puppet Master is likely a direct reference to Ghost in the Shell, and Body Hammer to the sequel of the legendary scifi-horror weirdout film Tetsuo. The concept of virtual reality makes an appearance in couple of songs. The song Limitless ends the album on a defiant note, dealing about humanity’s capacity to overcome limitations, perhaps through sheer will, but in the context of album, perhaps also by through technology. It’s a stomping ode to human tenacity and bang to end the album with.
Taken together, the intermingling themes of control, self-determination, technology, authenticity and virtuality make for an effective whole that captures certain aspects of the spirit of times, which is something I always appreciate. By fusing these lyrical themes with music that is equally future-oriented and hard-hitting Rein has proven herself an extraordinary artist.
Overall, the album is excellent. At just a bit over 31 minutes in length, it’s also extremely compact, and I wouldn’t have minded one or two extra tracks of more material. Whether leaving the listener waiting for more was a deliberate choice or not I do not know, but I am certainly eagerly looking to hearing more from Rein. While fans of lighter synthpop or those looking for more conventional material might find the angular, percussive and aggressive material contained within alienating, fans of industrial and darker electronic music will surely get a kick out of this album. Rein has pushed her limits and delivered a modern EBM masterpiece.
For more REIN, visit: www.reinofficial.com