Cassette Review // Adam Void "Poverty In The USA"

https://adamvoid.bandcamp.com/album/poverty-in-the-usa 

Before even listening to this, I like how it feels like the title "Poverty In The USA" is a play on the Miley Cyrus song "Party In The USA".  It's kind of funny how many people listen to pop music and feel like they can relate with it- like "Oh, Miley Cyrus is so real for this one"- but yet, celebrities such as Ms. Cyrus are making more in a week than we might in our entire lives.  The difference between working class and famous class needs to be discussed more, especially when it comes to pop music.

"Poverty In The USA" begins with the titular track, as this is a cassingle.  Electricity comes in with a "Hey" and then distortion comes down like thunder.  Adam Void is singing as electronics bring down the apocalypse behind it.   We have a Jay Z mention and there are electronic drone parts to this as well.  This feels so much like a disjointed pop song, it's almost the opposite of what you might expect from that Miley Cyrus song but there are also still some points where you feel like it's not too far from it either.

A muted tone on repeat comes in to start the next song, with a cough as well.  Words are spoken about West Virginia and fishermen.  A whirr is behind this as well, as we hear about Lois & Clark.   The vocals seem to echo and there is the glow of the Walmart sign mentioned within the nature of this song.  This is very much an exploration of the complexities of technology combined with the minimal qualities of spoken word- a true shining example of how something as simple and delicate as nature can be taken over by something as vast and gross as Walmart.

On the flip side we have one song: "Where Ya Been?".  We cut right into these tones that come out like fire.   This all becomes distorted and electric to the point where it feels like a swarm of bees.  Feeling like it's just pushing through, this sound is ready to attack.   This takes on all the distorted fun of an Atari game and it just feels like we're either about to lose or completely glitch out.  We come to a grinding halt and then singing comes through with melodic distortion.   This all gets so chaotic, then burns down to that bugzapper, as we are all just flies, awaiting our fate.