Hansel - Lorentzian Lineshaper
CD, D-Trash Records, 2006
www.hansel.org
"...The strong vocal aspect of "Lorentzian Lineshaper" (better than their murky debut, these well-executed lyrics are lucid and in the forefront) lends the album a decidedly hip-hop imprint, a genre from which Hansel draws much of their inspiration. In opposition to that aspect, however, are crashing breakbeats and digital hardcore stylings that draw comparisons most obviously with genre legends Atari Teenage Riot. Full of vehement passion and often paranoiac, frenzied or adrenalized, "Lorentzian Lineshaper" locates itself thematically on the boundaries of post-apocalyptic desperation, a first-hand witness to the paradoxical struggle of human survival in an immeasurable and empty universe. Hansel injects its robotic atheist vision with emotional content via the integration of classical instruments and orchestrations; strings feature prominently throughout the album - for instance the excellent, anxiety-filled "Mind Control" or the forlorn and vengeful "We are Important" - and "The Uncertainty Principle" even enlists a choir of angels to substantiate its bleak saga...