The Flesh Of The World EP - Uboa: Review
is an experimental noise project fronted by Xandra Metcalfe out of Australia. After nearly a decade of material she had a massive commercial breakout with 2019's The Origin Of My Depression which reeled in acclaim for it's harsh sound and deep dive into personal issues, predominately her experience as a trans woman.
Review By Lavender:
The Origin Of My Depression totally blew me away last year. The record presented a fascinating mix of experimental metal, electronica, drone and noise that spoke to her struggles in an incredibly personal way that I totally fell in love with. Despite being really excited for what Uboa would do next I somehow missed this EP when it first dropped back in May and didn't hear it until a few weeks later. Now after reviewing long albums for a month straight with A.G. Cook, Blu & Exile and Matmos I finally found some time to properly review this project before Sufjan takes over next week. And I'm really glad I found the time because The Flesh Of The World is another hit from Uboa and one of the best EP's I've heard this year.
These four tracks start off with Exsanguination an apocalyptic ballad that sees Xandra singing haunting vocal passages over shrill walls of sound. The textures are harsh and as crushing as a hyperpop super saw but it presents the exact opposite in tone. The song paints a despondent picture lyrically with the simplicity of lyrics like "I am hollow, I am melting" speaking volumes and making for a fantastic opening track. Inside/Outside lives up to it's name and paints a gritty picture of Xandra's struggles with gender identity just like so many of the best tracks from Origin. The song has an ascending synth line and gentle cymbal taps that in another life could have made up part of a radio rock song. But on this track they end up being crushed by the screamed vocals on the hook that gives the song a harsh yet astounding impact by foregoing any kind of bridge. The only complaint I have about the track is that it feels like it ends out of nowhere, even though the core composition of the song is finished it feels as though part of an outro has just been cut out.
God Unbounded is a song with hints of Lingua Ignota all over it, from the icy keys to the pounding distant percussion the song is epic in scale and it all centers around intimate and understated vocals. Even though she isn't screaming out into the void I still think the vocals are impactful at the moments when you can best make them out in the mix. There are some screamed vocals in the song later on and it makes for some of the tracks best moments when it feels like the steady build is at its highest peak. While the songs second climax doesn't feel quite as thorough it does come with even more dense and detailed layers of instrumentation and leads into a killer distorted breakdown to end the track off. The title track may be my least favorite song here but I still enjoy it quite a bit. It's a change of pace closing track and one of the most measured songs on the record despite it's arena sized percussion and harsh synth lines. Once again this track seems to end completely out of nowhere and gives me the feeling that an outro had just been cut out which is a bit of an unfortunate way to end off the EP.
Despite a stumble here and there so much of The Flesh Of The World is exactly what I was hoping for. The explosive instrumentation and heavy mix of these songs is once again so tangibly emotional in a way that most extreme genres of music just never achieve. Going forward I'm excited for whatever the Uboa project does next and I'll definitely try to get on top of it quicker next time, because The Flesh Of The World is an exciting treat. 8.5/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
Interesting cover. It's a pretty cool concept and if it was polished a little more then I would have enjoyed it. The placement of the text is great but the font makes it a little hard to see. There is so much going on though so it doesn't immediately draw you eye to the text. Not the best but certainly not the worst. 5/10
For another great noise EP check out my review of Jesu's Never here
