16volt - American Porn Songs

16volt are industrial veterans present throughout many respected compilations and prolific in the own right. 16volt have a breathy electronic tinged rock vibe to their sound in the vein we’ve come to expect from acts like Kill Hannah or akin to a smoother Ministry. American Porn Songs is a powerful collection of guitar based industrial music with some social commentary splashed into the mix.
The title track spells out the emptiness of porn sex and masturbation seen in the lyrics “Useless and easy/So worn out and had/Shallow and evil/Infected and mad” while also conveying a sense of bitterness and loathing at modern American life that continues through the album.
Personal highlights on this album include opener Alkali and Blackbird, and emotive dirge and a scream-fest respectively. Its hard to narrow down what to focus on in this album with a wide range of moods featured despite an overall subject matter of hollow mind numbing experience running throughout. That’s not to say there’s a lack of variety in their songs. despite starting out on the venomous Alkali, the appropriately smouldering ‘with fire and burning’ shows a more emotive side to the album. I’m ashamed to say I’m only just discovering 16volt as a band, even though the name has floated through my music collection unnoticed until now. American Porn songs is a solid introduction to a consistently strong band with a versatile sound that even a newbie to the industrial genre can’t fail to appreciate.
American Porn Songs Is available now on Metropolis Records from a variety of vendors.