Discovering the other site

Against Realism - "broken"
Label: DIY

AGAINST REALISM is the guy behind one of the most exciting, new labels in Screamo-adjacent music: BSDJ. That's the short form for Bedroom Skramz & DIY Jamz, the Online-community that built the foundation for the label. BSDJ is not just an interesting label, it's also fuckin' active, gushing out 40+ releases in less than a half year. Jordan aka AGAINST REALISM masters many of those records and also designs the cassettes for each and every release. Still, he finds enough time for his own project. The guy must be teacher!

The new EP "broken" is the first part of a double-concept-record. The other part will come out later and is the harsher one, just as we know AGAINST REALISM. This here, "broken", is the soft one, reduced and recorded analog. And damn, it's by far my favourite stuff he has done. I can't say that I was the biggest fan of his full length released earlier that year. I liked some cuts, but as a whole it was too much for me."broken" is more streamlined, clocking in at less than 12 minutes of playtime. It's still kinda uneasy, yet the musical approach is pretty different to what the Australian did before.

You won't find any loud electronics or blasts or fast tempos or screams. The distorted vocals are still there, but he exclusively whispers or uses spoken words. The music however is chill and groovy and moody. Take a track like "funkopolis called they want their funk back" with its wave-y melody and harmonies that are the heart of the track. Some Noise and distortion give it enough balls tho. Also, the lighter and nearly uplifting music clashes with the self-loathing lyrics, which is a cool little and twisted detail. "i never stop hoping i never stop getting hurt" is another favourite of mine, with its downright danceable beat. Unfortunately it's over within a minute. Also the opener "because i can't afford therapy" and the closer "twas yet what changed the wind on us" work perfect as these reduced, atmospheric bits. Here, the guitar-usage is really effective too.

I know, "broken" might just be a one-off but here's to hoping AGAINST REALISM carries some bits of this into the future. "broken" is his most musical and sensitive output yet. AGAINST REALISM at his most human. And that's a site I like. 

AGAINST REALISM on Bandcamp
AGAINST REALISM on Instagram