Website: Thosquanta
The Inside Pulse:
Evolving from an experimental darkwave project into a full-fledged industrial noise terror, Thosquanta seeks to please a crowd that ranges from goth to stompy and all the way into pure metal. Some would call it industrial, but we don’t need labels. Lovelife would be impossible to describe if we tried to muck it up with comparative genre associations.
What one gets with Lovelife is the sex-charged vocals of Jen Plum mixed with those of the dark-and-creaky Adam Powell, both backed with a mix of shredding guitars and synth chaos (watch that sub-bass, folks). The energy doesn’t let up for the entire album, creating quite the mood-setter. But while the sounds themselves are incredible, they tend to blend from one song to the next.
Positives: The title track is the best example of the potential of Thosquanta; that and “A is A” each create a perfect atmosphere, contain catchy hooks, and are cohesive units all their own. The ballad “Random” is a surprise, but definitely the standout track of the album. The musicianship throughout the disc is top-notch and there’s not a standout “bad” song.
Negatives: While there are songs with great hooks, there are an equal number without any hooks at all. The tone of the album is rather even, which then leads the hookless songs to all blend into a blob of non-memorable muck. When they do it well, they do it well; when they don’t, it’s tedious.
Crossbreed:
KMFDM meets Prong meets Sneaker Pimps. Don’t break your brain on that one.
Reason to Buy:
If you’re bored by years of similar-sounding industrial music, you like to hear girls using their best phone-sex voice, or you really did break your brain on the above.
