Music Review – Wedlock Exogamy By Ned Raggett

wedlock__exogamy

After their debut Matrimony in 2006, Wedlock released a full length debut, Exogamy in 2008. Here’s my review:

The early 21st century re-embrace of synth pop as arrangement inspiration, technical approach, or both and more besides has — much like its original form — resisted being easily stereotyped as one monolithic form. Thus it’s perfectly in character for a peppy-sounding song like “Rev. Charisma” to be a sing-along ditty about Reverend Jim Jones — though with the drums moving into aggressive overdrive toward the end, things aren’t exactly a gentle bop on the dancefloor. With that as a start, Wedlock launch into an energetic, impulsive, and anger-fueled collection of impulses. Lead figure Paul Allgood thrives on further contextualization and potential contradictions, whether it’s alluding to church on Sunday morning while thriving in Saturday night clubs on “Discopharma” or the observation on said club rituals in “Asseswaving” from an outside viewpoint: “I’m the only one with hippie locks all the way down to my butt.” “Allegiance? WTF?” is the most politicized of these, given the Bush samples that crop up regarding the Iraq invasion, but the close-to-the-bone “Dear Diary,” regardless of whether it’s nonfiction or not, pulls little in the way of emotional punches as stuttered beats and swirls fill out the arrangement. Meanwhile, hearing the fetishistic impulse behind “Blue Dress” by Depeche Mode transformed into the breezy soul of “Black Sundress” is a fun delight, especially when he lets some of those darker hints resurface regardless.

It’s unconfirmed, but supposedly there’s an Exogamy re-issue w/ alternate tracks in the works.

http://www.wedlockmusic.com