http://www.darktwincities.com/reviews.php?review=107 Stray - Abuse By Proxy [return to reviews]
Review by Christopher Roddy
Unter Null began as a solo Industrial project by Erica Dunham in 1998. Her evolution as a composer over the past decade has allowed the music to embrace a more accessible Aggrotech sheen that opened up clubgoers to her brand of harsh electronics and vitriolic, distorted vocals. With a few albums and EPs under her belt it was time to introduce a divergent side to this personality which has amassed a sizable following. Stray is Dunham's attempt to add dimension and breadth to her growing repertoire. As expansive as it is delicate the sound of this new project has been marketed as similar to the late-Nineties output of Front Line Assembly side effort Delerium. Projecting such a limited comparison, however, does Dunham some disservice as the music is reminiscent of a variety of artists as well as her own past works. It also manages to find a unique niche that bodes well for the success of Abuse By Proxy.
"Fade Into You" is a gorgeous, epic track that breathes a synthetic mist which seems to spring straight out of the soundscapes of the Dot Allison project One Dove from fifteen years ago. One of the album highlights, it radiates an emotional warmth that envelops the listener and becomes a kind of sonic blanket shielding you from the anxieties of everyday life. "Lost Command" opens up with waves of synth that immediately call to mind Everything Is Wrong-era Moby and takes on a skittering speed with a rhythm that doesn't ground the song so much as propel its wings into the stratosphere as an insistent chord progression guides your path.
Meanwhile, the title track is like a significantly more haunting echo of SynthPop. Were it played straight without all the effects it would be on par with some of that genre's most notable releases but Dunham has other plans, elevating the proceedings with a church-like reverence that doesn't overstay its welcome and leads straight into the angelic "In Times Of Misanthropy," which always seems on the verge of collapse under threads of corrosion without coming across as abrasive in the least. It succeeds in completing an arc that begins with sentimental self-discovery and ends in tumultuous uncertainty.
While all of this might come across as Nineties nostalgia there are touches of Eighties Pop stylings mixed in along with contemporary sensibilities and an imaginative flair for song structure. The biggest treat is hearing Erica come out from behind all of the distortion and letting her impressively alluring voice be heard. While not entirely effects-free it comes across as considerably more intimate and should serve to catch long time fans off guard. The biggest victory to spring from this venture would be that Abuse By Proxy adds a certain amount of depth to Dunham's previous recordings and fleshes her out as a three-dimensional artist not limited by genre affiliation. Whereas she once railed at a "Sick Fuck" and ranted nihilistically in "You Have Fallen From Grace" about having been broken down, here she extols "I adore you / I cherish you" ("Kindred Soul"), and declares "I want to dig a great big hole / deep down in the ground / and crawl inside with you / I want to crawl on hands and knees" ("The Tie That Binds").
Most of this album languishes in an achingly romanticized, mid-tempo pace which might not immediately translate into extensive club play, however there is a special 2CD edition that includes numerous remixes which should serve to whet every DJs appetite and help sell the album to otherwise unaware club mavens. It may not appeal to fans of the more aggressive, distorted sounds of her primary project but Stray is a serendipitous surprise that reveals Dunham to be quite the creative force, lending a hefty amount of crossover appeal to her already impressive body of work. Abuse By Proxy is well worth your interest.