TV Cult, a post-punk band from Cologne, will release their second studio album, Industry, on October 10 via Flight 13 Records. The album follows three singles—“Communion,” “Crack the Whip,” and “Overpressure”—each offering sharp critiques of religion, capitalism, and contemporary political issues.
The album opens with 'Communion,' a track which, both in title and in subject matter, criticizes the approaches of Christian politics. The band uses this album as a whole to voice their opinions on recent events, such as the horrors in Palestine. From the beginning of the opening track, the band's anger and exasperation towards people and political figures who use religious ideologies to justify harmful acts is palpable.
"Overpressure" follows, along with the commentary on violence. It starts slow, but Marco Natale's vocals quickly propel the track into a realm of activist anger. The album's third track, "Surrender" initiates a slightly different musical sound, with its eerie organ-sounding melody. Both of these tracks comment on the band's refusal to fall into complacency over recent issues.
"Primary Crusher" uses its bridge to repeat the word "guilty," followed by the album's most intense and impressive drum solo by Florian Stadtfeld. The track takes on a darker and more direct tone in accordance with Natale's deeper vocals.
"Primary Crusher" is followed by the album's second single, "Crack the Whip." "Crack the Whip" begins with a much slower and calmer musical sound compared to anything on the album thus far, and the track as a whole acts as a transition point between the two halves of the album. The opening lines, "by the grace of God," and its continual quoting of biblical texts distinguish this song as one of the band's most outward commentaries on religious themes. The song's title, meanwhile, pinpoints a connection between religion and violence.
The sixth track, "Moonflower," uses imagery from nature, such as oceans, rain, and skies, in contrast with man-made horrors. Lyrics like "there is no safe harbor" emphasize how acts of war and violence interrupt the peace of nature and innocent people. The track is followed by "Gavage," which uses Martin Hughes' guitar melody to return to a faster and more urgent execution of the album's common themes.
"Pyramids" distances itself from the previous songs on the album, with its initial atmospheric and tranquil scene cracking and eventually giving way to more themes of destruction. By the end of the track, it again ramps up to match the anger of the previous songs, allowing it to lead into the album's penultimate track, "Whirlwind."
"Whirlwind" uses the common motifs of wind, oceans, and waves to represent the recurring themes of war and destruction.
The album ends with "Symbols of Death," which juxtaposes a misleadingly serene melody with one last cry for innocent people who have died for the sake of proving a position of power.
The track repeats the line "resting in power," creating a powerful and moving note on which to end the album, taking away all forms of symbolism and metaphor to make very clear the band's intent with the album: to express anger at all the selfish deeds of political figures and the unnecessary atrocities innocent people have faced.
Despite the album's short length, it packs an extremely impactful and impressive punch. The band is set to tour the album through Germany in October and November, with the album officially dropping on October 10th.
