Troum — Acouasme

Between new albums, collaborations, and re-releases, the past few years have been great for Troum fans. The legendary German drone duo is back on Cold Spring with their latest, Acouasme. Taking a drastically different approach from the close of the "Power Romantic" trilogy closer, 2013's Mare Morphosis, Acouasme works its way into the listener's brain with darkness and misery. And, since you're reading this on m[m], you realize that's a good thing.

Slowly growing echoes collide to form a reverberating wall of cave-like chaos in Acouasme's opener, "Aliens Laughing About Us." Rising and spreading drones provide an expansive backdrop for buzzy, heavily manipulated vocals. Pained groans reveal the torturous nature of this cave, and the industrial vibe of this album comes to the fore very early in its run time. Switching from overtly creepy to subtly eerie, "Acouasme" slowly rumbles forth as a thick, low fog. Deep bass hits punctuate and serve to keep the listener on his toes for what might emerge from the almost living haze. Tight, high noise patterns thicken the mist and open into a distant, terrifying swarm that moves toward the listener before fading out. Continuing with the low, rolling eeriness, "Omega Melancholicum" adds a bit more of an industrial tinge with a buzzing reverb, but takes things in a different direction in the final third. Breaking from the darkness, "Omega" opens up into a lighter, airy section. Soft synths play off of each other like bubbles rising up toward ever nearing daylight. This brightness is short lived, though, as "Outer Brain Outsourcing" pulses forward with an almost Einsturzende Neubauten-esque aplomb. Grinding metal is replaced with synthy drones, but the additive combination of the layers takes on a life of its own, and is very Troum. Hypnotic loops and Elm Street boiler room sounds emerge late into "Outer," and definitely take the track into a rad, dark place. Churning like a balrog breakdance party, "Somnolenz" is low and deliberate. Taking its time to get situated, highs emerge and fill out the rest of the spectrum. "Signe du Miroir" brings Acouasme to a close on a more grand, cinematic note. Though the drums feel fairly disjointed, they work well to help add depth and propulsion. "Signe" is not rushed, and seems to find a mid point between the darker songs on Acouasme and the brightness of the ending of "Omega."

Troum are very skilled at building atmospheres, be they airy, sonic landscapes, or dark, brooding terrorscapes. Acouasme leans toward the latter, and is a nice change of pace from the dreamy material that Troum has released recently. Harsher, more industrial elements really help this to stand out in their discography, and I look forward to the future in hopes they keep going in this direction.