Normally when writing an album review, most of us who do such things will not get too far into what they are writing before telling anyone who is reading that ‘So-And-So’ are a cross between So-And-So and ‘So-And-So’. But although there are many loud women in equally loud bands who are doing their own thing, their own way, Anglo-French trio A Void is not immediately comparable to any other outfit currently working the circuit – other than perhaps the Lambrini Girls, with whom they share a fearless, take-no-prisoners stage presence, and possibly upcoming bands such as Muff and Chroma, whose own audio attack is similarly full-on, albeit not quite the same musically. If any of those float your boat, as they do mine, you will be pleased to get to know A Void via the grooves of their fine second album “Dissociation”.
Should you have seen A Void live – and given how many gigs they do, all over the place, there’s a very good chance that you will have done – you will know how dynamic their live presence is, and how much vibrancy their frontsperson Camille Alexander brings to the stage. A dynamo of a woman who spends as much set time either jumping around or lying prone on said stage, or joining the band’s audiences at mosh pit level, Alexander falls firmly into the ‘force of nature’ category, and the all-out visual onslaught she brings to every A Void gig is fully augmented by the all-action percussive work of her fellow Franciase Marie Niemiec, who doesn’t so much play the drums as punish them, and anchored by the rumbling bass of Aaron Hartmann. Collectively the three Voids make for compulsive viewing, so much so that the visuals can sometimes distract from their powerful sound, and Alexander’s equally powerful songwriting. A ‘problem’ that goes away when you are listening to a record, of course…
The 12 tracks of “Dissociation” offer ample evidence of just how powerful that songwriting is. Taken as a whole, they display a huge leap forward from A Void’s previous long player “Awkward And Devastated” from 2018. That was a very good debut, for sure, but it was a debut by a band that was still working its way towards a higher level of greatness. I expect their next album will be greater still, but at this present time “Dissociation” is about as great as great gets. If you have heard their recent single and former LW Track Of The Day ‘Newspapers’ – joined at the hip here with a doomy, attention-grabbing ‘Bag Of Skulls’ – you will have heard a very fine taster for what A Void are currently bringing to the table (or should perhaps be turntable, as the album is available on vinyl as well as the customary CD and download formats). It’s joined here by 11 other scorchers that span a songwriting period of two years and that, as a whole, show a darker side to their author than do the bombastic live versions of many of these tracks.
Many are chronicles of rocky, abusive and inevitably failed relationships, none of which appear to have been terribly happy ones. ‘It Get So Violent When You Put Me In My Place/But I Will Stick Around And Long For Your Embrace’ is the mantra of the mentally tortured central figure of ‘Stepping On Snails’, and the album’s closer ‘Sonic Untitled’ continues in a similar vein by unmasking a veritable toerag of a partner who proclaims ‘Girl You’re So Sexy When You Shut Up/You’re Prettier When You Smile’ – while ‘2BSeen’ bemoans the lot of someone who ‘No Matter How Smart…Can Never Earn Respect’ and who is ‘Constantly Treated Like An Object’ – although one gets the impression that anybody who might even think about disrespecting or objectifying the feisty Alexander would soon find themselves on the receiving end of a small but perfectly placed Gallic fist in the face. There are happy moments here and there, but only a few and you have to dig deep to find them…
Away from the darkness of the words, the tempo of the music throughout is cool to medium, which brings a pleasing alternative perspective to the rabble rousing live performances of some, and it’s nice to hear more of the clear and attractive backing vocals of Niemiec, which often find themselves submerged in the thick audio gazpacho of A Void’s live sound – reproduced here with clarity and in a way that brings a previously unnoticed similarity to Fräulein’s live and studio sound to mind, which is not by any means a comparison that should offend any member of either band. A nicely-rounded production and mix that shines as much light on the words and singing thereof as it does the music ensures that you will quickly become engrossed by what A Void are saying here…
“I’ll Charm You With My Looks/I’ll Charm You With My Voice/But Will You Ever Listen/To What I Really Gotta Say?” asks Alexander in ‘Part Two’ of the lengthy opener ‘Sad Events Occur’. Don’t worry Camille, I suspect a lot of people will be hanging on your every word every time they listen to this terrific album. With the release of “Dissociation” A Void has come of age as a band, and set a higher musical standard for themselves and other bands like them (although there aren’t many that are quite like them) to live up to. A purchase of this superb new release will neither be a waste of your time, or your money.
“Dissociation” is out now on Punk Fox Records on vinyl, and via other sources as a CD or download. Copies on Rough Trade here. A Void are playing a free gig at London’s Rough Trade East on September 14th, following which they will be signing copies of the vinyl or CD. Go to see them as soon as you can if you have not yet done so.
LOUD WOMEN 