Bleep

Far from staying silent, Mark Broom and James Ruskin have been busy since their last outing as The Fear Ratio. Broom has released two albums since They Can’t Be Saved in 2020, and Ruskin has kept a steady output on his own Blueprint label. The two even released an album together under their Deadhand project in 2021. Their main collaborative efforts as The Fear Ratio, however, usually result in an album every half a decade. This time landing on Berlin's Tresor Records, with their fourth album Slinky.

This new album brings sonic development, as The Fear Ratio bring vocals to the forefront for the first time in their music. UK rapper King Kashmere features on ‘Death Switch’ and ‘Spinning Globe’, boasting an unrelenting flow that merges perfectly with The Fear Ratio’s labyrinthine electro beats. His social commentary on disenfranchisement and oppressive systems only adds to the cold dystopian atmosphere that much of Slinky is mired in, giving a voice to tense bass rumbles and hurried, skittering synth stabs.

Like the album’s artwork, ‘L10’ opens by scribbling its irradiated surges of sounds, darting across vision in ephemeral moments as they mutate. Electrostatic stutters and blips race on ‘Appi’ like overhead lights in a dark tunnel underground, while heavy, clipped snares and incessant alarm bells on ‘BS2’ layer themselves into structural collapse. The whirlwind of ‘Lacovset’ finds Ella Fleur’s rebounding vocals distorted beyond interpretation, meanwhile the more optimistic island of ‘Effem’ lifts spirits with a bright sound palette and heavyweight beats.

The Fear Ratio reach new heights on Slinky, continuing their limitless electronic explorations.