Night Slaves – Patient Zero CS (Swimming Faith Records)

Night Slaves is a characteristic duo from Buffalo, New York. The group comprises of John Toohill (Swimming Faith Records, Science Man, Alpha Hopper, Spit Kink, Cobra Cobra, Johns…among many others) and Dave Kane, an eccentric local artist who creates distinctive music for decades. These two formed Night Slaves sometime in 2015 and instantly started recording music. The group embarks with two singles, such as Crown Of Walls and Into The Nowhere. Then, the group decided to release a debut self-titled EP with six numbers, housed in a Chinese takeout food box packaging, including some goodies like an unfortunate cookie, patch, pin…etc. Right after that, Night Slaves published another self-titled EP with five compositions in a regular cassette shell, including even more goodies. It was more than evident that these prolific musicians were just getting started, so they published two more EPs named 2.5 and Patient Zero, which I would like to talk about today.

Patient Zero carries two longevous compositions that are falling under so many musical branches at the same time. Both John and David planned out Night Slaves as an extending platform, where all sound forms and audio expressions are more than welcome. Their sound expanses with each new record they put out, and in the times when Patient Zero arrived, this sound form was appropriate for Night Slaves. This particular material showcases the very beginnings of this outlet, stripped down to the rawest, unpolished, abrasive, but pleasing form. Night Slaves are shaping their sound by embracing the fundamentals of avant-garde art forms, usually admired by the smaller crowds on the DIY scene, and this cassette provides a closer look into their long-forgotten debut recordings.

Patient Zero commences with Common Light, a characteristic industrial composition based upon EBM and abrasive pop. The number begins with arpeggiated bell sequences, which are transitioning into repetitious industrial synth melody, followed by moderate EMB tempo. The Common Light carries a dosage of goth rock and glitch music somewhere beneath the beforementioned layers, but still, Night Slaves are heading towards the pure industrial sound. This particular composition evolves as time passes by, and there are even more additions as the song comes to its closure. No Remorse provides an in-depth examination into experimental industrial music through remarkable usage of various samples, segments, sequences, build-ups, and hypnotic vocals. The foundations are deeply rooted in industrial music, but this time, Night Slaves included more 70s funk rock intros, experimental noise maneuvers, electro keys, and subtle glitch pop accentuations. The exact tempo keeps everything compact and uniformed, but both compositions possess enough dynamics.

Patient Zero drives us back to the essentials of Night Slaves, and this crude material showcases the artistic force of both John Toohill and David Kane in the brightest light. The cassette is already gone, but you can still grasp some recent records by this duo at their Bandcamp page.