Tropic Of Cancer – Stop Suffering
Stop Suffering, the first release from Carmella Lobo since Tropic of Cancer’s 2013 debut album, Restless Idylls, completes the transformation from grungy, primitive techno to ethereal intimacy. It’s all the more easy to trace that progress thanks to Blackest Ever Black re-issuing some of the band’s first tracks to appear on Karl O’Connor’s Downwards label at the same time as this new material. The music on The Dull Age 12″ covers the period when Lobo’s former partner, Juan ‘Silent Servant’ Mendez, was still involved in the project and his involvement was clearly audible. Restless Idylls saw Lobo stripping the Tropic of Cancer sound of most of its techno vestiges, while Stop Suffering goes a few steps farther to remove the last remaining elements.
Lobo’s vocals, the plaintive guitar playing and the ethereal textures that dominate each track are simply spellbinding. However, for this writer, what’s most striking about Stop Suffering is how evocative it sounds, how much it relates to this individual listener and my life. The accompanying press material talks about loss and what comes after it as well as hints at S&M / self-harm – themes that are also depicted by Jasmine Deporta’s cover art – but to these ears, all three tracks recall sounds, feelings, people and places from a different time in my life, bringing back a flood of memories and feelings.
“Woke Up And The Storm Was Over” and “When The Dog Bites”, the former of which featured on a recent Blackest Ever Black compilation, are understated, melancholic pieces that sees Lobo design vivid synth tapestries. On the title track, there is a more direct dynamic and this is realised by Lobo’s soft but resonant vocals, electronic layers and dramatic guitar riffs building to create a truly heart-rending piece of music. For this reason, Stop Suffering is one of this year’s most emotionally powerful records.
Richard Brophy
Tracklisting:
1. Stop Suffering
2. I Woke Up And The Storm Was Over
3. When The Dog Bites