It’s funny how some perceive and attain enlightenment. Travel, books, spirituality – many attribute these to having some sort of positive effect on their wellbeing. But at what point do we become too enlightened? This question is answered on Gonjasufi’s newest release Callus, where the Californian producer attempts to meld sound in a way that is ferocious in its delivery, but remains uninteresting.
To call this an album would be an overstatement at best. It’s more of a science experiment gone wrong, and Sufi is attempting to justify its existence through really vague and boring anecdotes about depression which are extremely hard to decipher. Sufi opts for twangy guitars and a heavy industrial presence on opening track Your Maker, setting a thematic precedent for the entire album – doom, gloom and everything in between.
Oddly short lead single Maniac Depressant features an ear-piercing snare drum that changes pitch more than Sufi’s vocals, where he opts for screaming and an obnoxious mono tonal melody that feels like it drags on more than the album’s painfully long running time. Callus is completely devoid of bass until Afrikan Spaceship where Sufi does his best worst Jack White impression while attempting to mash together blues and psychedelia in what ends up turning into a complete mess.
While Ole Man Sufferah gives some sort of order through all the wacky experimentation, the dissonance of the chords doesn’t provide a gateway for the ears to gain at least some pleasure until the track Krishna Punk, that is true to its name and is definitely the most tolerable cut off the album. With a Ramones-like “Hey” that demands attention, and a breathtaking harmonised vocoder towards the end of the track, a shift in tone is imminent, until next track Elephant Man where it becomes apparent that Sufi is more interested in making music for himself rather than his fans.
BY BENJAMIN POTTER
