FACS - Casual Indifference

For Facs, redefining themselves and their music is a way of life. Fortunately, they're consistently great at it. Void Moments is the band's second album with bassist Alianna Kalaba, and it feels like the stability of their lineup allowed them to be even more daring with their music. Even when they pared their sound down to its bones on Negative Houses, Facs have never been a simple proposition. However, on their third full-length they give the melodies, harmonies, and textures they introduced on Lifelike even more depth. With its jittery, jabbing rhythm, "Boy" initially sounds like it could be a Negative Houses outtake, but the way Brian Case's angular guitar lines play against Noah Leger's slinky polyrhythms in a shifting audio illusion has a mesmerizing complexity that feels new. As on Lifelike, Void Moments' melodic and harmonic elements make Facs sound even more singular instead of more conventional. Tremulous guitars drift through the album, floating above the gritty din of the rhythm section and lending an eerie sensuality to tracks such as "Casual Indifference," where Case's androgynous harmonies when he sings about playing "around with different sexes" suggest that the music's fluidity extends to Void Moments' themes. Those weightless guitars take center stage on "Version," a fascinating collage of zero-gravity shoegaze, dub's spooky atmospheres, and jazzy, freewheeling interplay that culminates in triumphantly noisy catharsis. Though the post-punk violence of Facs' playing is undeniable, the intricacy of their performances is just as remarkable. Leger remains a brilliant drummer; on "Teenage Hive," it sounds like he's having a conversation with himself on his kit while he ties together Kalaba's taut bass and Case's radiant guitar washes. Here and on the standout "Void Walker," each member of Facs traces different trajectories that complement each other perfectly. When they close the album with the monumental-sounding "Dub Over," the sheer hugeness of the track makes it feel like they can do just about anything. Though Facs demand a lot from their listeners, when the results are as stunning as Void Moments, it's well worth paying attention.