23rd November 2023
A Void, the Franco-English trio based in London are one hard-gigging, high-output unit. And for all of their grunge credentials – Camille Alexander is our contemporary hirsute Coutney Love with her raw, raging vocals and absolute lack of fucks given when it comes to adhering to societal norms of appropriate behaviour – they’re also a band whose focus seems to be on fun. And their main objective is to entertain themselves first and foremost, and the audience second. Not in a selfish way, but in a way that places creative freedom above any market or commercial considerations. These are reasons to love the band already.
I got quite excited about their second album, Dissociation, back in September of last year. A year on, I still return to it while I’m cooking on an evening, as I also do their debut, Awkward And Devastated. There’s a reason for this: A Void have a knack for great tunes, and following the grunge template, they’ve absolutely nailed that contrasting quiet, melodic verse / roaring explosion of a chorus. As a teen in the 90s, I was absolutely hooked on Nirvana and the grunge scene: I first encountered Hole playing ‘Teenage Whore’ on Snub TV and was blown away by the viscerality of it. Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots didn’t give the same vibe, but some of these bands just spilled their guts in a way that we hadn’t seen and set a precedent. Many bands have done their best to emulate, but fee have succeeded. A Void are among the few, and the reason they possess that power is because they’re keeping it real and there’s no polish or pretence here.
So what’s this? Following their first new material in a year in the shape of ‘Save Yourself’, ‘Gutter’ is fairly subdued in relative terms: there’s no ear-splitting overdrive and shrieking catharsis on offer here. But what we get is a song that’s quintessential A Void. The guitars may be clean in the main, but they lurch from delicate picking to driving in a fraction of a moment. There is a breakout of big overdrive around the midpoint, and it’s a rush, and in this context, ‘Gutter’ is perhaps their most ambitious composition to date.
Volatility is A Void’s signature style, and ‘Gutter’ brings it. The angst may be a little more reined in, but don’t for a second think it’s an indication that they’re mellowing. This is 100% kick ass, and it’s almost guaranteed that the album will kick arse, and then some.
AA
Aural Aggravation 