Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
We lose faith in ourselves quicker than we do others, at times we can look at ourselves in the mirror and see the face of the one that holds us back, whose existence can mock us without reproach, and we feel the agency of anger and the motivation of attack from that which comes from within because we realise with certainty that The Enemy Is Us, and it frightens us, it terrifies us, and yet can create through the tension such art that it acts as a salve, as a calming liniment of appeasement.
The electronic genius and a holder of true human emotion, Max Rael, steps away from the group dynamic for a brief period to bring his debut solo release of The Enemy Is Us, and by doing so offers a huge piece of his enormous heart to the listener, and an ever-greater in-depth view of his soul.
Some will see the actions of a provocateur as one mired in, and relishing, a kind of anarchy, willing to push the psyche of the art at their disposal and be responsible for a restless confrontation, and whilst we could be at war with ourselves, the war inside our heads is actually a call for exploration of our own restless search for identity; to see the opportunity provided as one of actual peace, as seeing the crisis and forcing resolve.
To find Max Rael in such an exact frame of industrial philosophical examination is to be assured that there is an artist of such renown willing to confront the questions that vex us in their own indomitable manner; not to capture the essence of beauty, but the evaluation of our soul. Like Picasso, drama and understanding Van Gogh and others who use pain to manifest the fissures and cracks of society, and release reflection with an abundance of shattering pleasure.
This is the dive into a sonic realm that many will have been asking for, to help them repair their own vision, a trip into the grimness of our times but how the surrender of the inevitable will come at a cost, and as the narrative focuses on the individual, a kind of colossus of the Progressive mindset to weave the beat to the inspiration of the concept, so tracks such as Pressing Against The Glass, Eight Miles Down And Falling Fast, The Day The Rain Stopped, Brain-Damage Self-Assessment, and My First Death showcase the resilience of the mind to overcome the inbuilt ability to seize upon the dystopian fear and let it be squashed, beaten, destroyed in the name of hope is unrelentingly cool and filled with all that Max Rael has within.
With a tremendous guitar addition by Caden Clarkson on the aforementioned My First Death, The Enemy Is Us offers the chance to feel whole in the realm of the splintered and the breaking down of the self that many predict; a fascinating drive through the indomitable spirit that comes from art’s dance with suffering. A fearless and outstanding recording.
Ian D. Hall