Post-punk artist Vlimmer releases the conceptual EPs “XIIIIII / XIIIIIII” (16 & 17)
The eternal struggle for the meaning of life is almost coming to an end: In November 2015, Vlimmer released the first two parts of an 18-EP instalment that tells the story of a young man trying to find out why he is the damaged person he is. After returning from a disastrous travel back in time he manages to return to the present with a dysfunctional mind. On part 16 (”XIIIIII”) it appears as if the protagonist commits a midnight murder on a jogger, eventually stealing his keys and entering his luxurious top floor apartment where he finally faints. While part 17 “XIIIIIII” depicts an unnerving fever dream where he gets arrested, tried for murder and convicted. It’s a terrifying turmoil where settings blend into one another. The man finds himself on a cot, in a hospital, still at court or in jail. He sees through his own eyes and, at the same time, sees himself through the eyes of people who surround him while he’s convinced that he’s waiting for his beheading.
While Vlimmer’s lamenting signature post-punk/dreamwave is evident from the start (“Perplexität”), on “XIIIIII” (16) the instrumentation offers more aggressive moments of angst scapes (the dystopic “Schwanenhals”, the tunnel of terror on “Taubheit”) to the harshly distorted, noisy shoegaze closer, “Kopfkante”, which is about the murder taking place. In between you find Vlimmer’s perhaps best track, the dramatic “Lebenswert” – a motoric, skeletal indie/wave rocker based on a washed out flute loop.
“XIIIIIII” (17) takes a different direction, opening with two minimal pieces that are in the vein of downtempo darkwave and nocturnal ambient. “Falter” then picks up speed, and “Insekto” is this EP’s uptempo outbreak switching from psychedelic kraut arpeggios to haunting goth zithers which are disrupted by noisy eruptions. On the depressive “Farbenquell”, finally, colours of all kinds splatter out of the protagonist’s open neck’s stump. Is it over? Not just yet.
You can listen to the album here:
https://blackjackilluministrecords.bandcamp.com/album/xiiiiii-xiiiiiii-16-17
