"Pacifying The Population" thrusts us into a world where the dominator culture acts like a ruthless drug cartel, us it's compliant consumers. The highly-charged ten tracker LP evokes a narcotic frenzy like atmosphere that surges into the consciousness and pulses through the body like a craved hit. Once again Kastner propels us through a unique musical landscape at the very edge of the sonic territories.
The dominator culture enforces what is moral, ethical, worthy or valid, selling lifestyles, enforcing rituals, “pushing” values, incentivizing the pathological, imposing our needs and beliefs. Increasingly displaying hallmarks of a cruel drug cartel /drug addict, dependency dynamic. The population hooked and enslaved to it's destructive needs.
Seduced, hooked, strung-out on the promise of instant gratification, short-term satisfaction, shiny gadget infatuation, pre-packaged trash values, the cultish, totem imagery of a moribund, redundant culture. An accurate sense of the lived experience obscured by a junkie haze of stupefied confusion. Addicted and hooked, it holds us hostage, keep us compliant, increasingly we are unable to locate ourselves in the maelstrom of noise. Attempting to operate outside that paradigm rendered almost impossible with countless cultural, social and practical obstacles to overcome. Not "playing the game" is seen & treated as subversive, anti-social, madness.
Opening the album “Sanctioned Sedatives” literally kicks the door down with a massive base line that cuts through disorienting distortions. “Restoring The Connection” sounds like the way out of a tunneling drug habit, a subdued claustrophobic feel in the beginning drive the track to a mind altering, rising wall of pads.
On side B calmer moods create the appropriate environment for the hazy ambience and the suffused positive feel of B2, which, as the title may suggest, sounds like an invitation to get out of the loop, in order to “Unfuk Your Mind”. The title track “Pacifying The Population” begins side C, grand in scope, pounding drum workouts, a sinister spoken narrative, symphonic strings, mind-mangling resonant acid make this an epic trip.
The closing track “Apocalyptic Signs (Eulogy)” is deeply layered, orchestral. Ethereal synth melodies and heavily warped voices from far out territories induce a deep reflection on the whole album, despite the title it sounds like an unexpected ode to life or maybe as the relief from all human pains.
Pacifying The Population evokes an oppressive feel, a sense of constant tension, modern living. The dense atmospheres, the abrasive and repetitive grooves, Consuming and devastating as a drug habit, the elements that perfectly capture the essence of the whole album. Despite that, it still sounds like a way out from all that is possible, a way to restore the connection within ourselves and between each other. A therapeutic purge.
