Webdriver Torso
End.
self-released
Five years is a long layoff for most bands under most circumstances, but in the case of LA’s Webdriver Torso that hiatus was amplified by it preceding the release of their first proper LP. After some intriguing EPs and singles which offered a lo-fi vision of industrial metal and mutant-styled EBM quite different from the forms those subgenres held at the time, the duo dropped off the radar a few months before the pandemic hit. Reemerging with a full LP, End. finds Webdriver Torso picking up right where they left off, albeit with broader shifts in the styles they work in now framing their sound in a new light.
Heavily processed guitar, murky programming, and alternately disaffected and coolly reflective vocals are the core elements Webdriver Torso bring and combine to produce either the gauzy minimalism of “Ravens”, or more brooding and weighty stuff like “444” (complete with synthesized shakuhachi as it ratchets up the gothic drama) and the hazy stomp of “1111”. The latter isn’t too far away from the style of much of their 2018 Listen_Die_EP, yet also sounds of a piece with much of the more driving, dancefloor focused darkwave we’ve been hearing from NA acts over the past two or three years. Again, if you caught Webdriver Torso live before their break or got a read on the sorts of influences they were drawing together for that first run, you’ll know that that’s never been their specific aim, but a lot around the band has changed during the layoff, and I imagine there are a host of younger folks just showing up to the party who’ll find their tastes sympatico with what Webdriver Torso have to offer.
The balance between End.‘s more languid and dreamy fare (the record ends with a cover of “All The Pretty Little Horses” which sounds like it’s being filtered through hospital anaesthetics) and its crunchier stuff gives it a range that belies its half hour run time and does a good job of showing off the band’s ability to link classic industrial metal to more abstract and meme-fried touchstones. If that link sounds akin to the formula HEALTH have used to such strong effect of the last years, sure, one could maybe hear a connection between that act’s recent work and the finely diced and sequenced chug and bounce of opener “Negative One”, but I’d posit that even earlier indie/noise crossover acts (NTX + Electric or even early Gang Gang Dance come to mind) are a fairer comp.
The ranging effects of the pandemic permanently sidelined plenty of bands, and I’ll admit that I’d taken Webdriver Torso for one of them. I’m glad to be proven wrong, in part because their existing work showed promise but was also clearly the work of a band who had more to offer once they got up to full speed. End. has them reemerging at that full tilt without any warmup needed, and perhaps even more suited to the current zeitgeist than they were before the layoff.
