ReView: :10: – Why We Hurt / Filth In Me EP0

:10:
Album: Why We Hurt / Filth In Me EP
Category: Industrial / Experimental
Label: Self-released
Release Date: 2022-12-10 / 2023-02-18
Author: Ilker Yücel (Ilker81x)

Sean Forsythe had been stating that the 2017 release of Eros would be the last under the :10: moniker, the artist then shifting his attentions to other artistic and musical projects. Of course, leave it to the isolating and dire circumstances of the pandemic to make a liar out of him as he ended up creating the Why We Hurt album, once again returning to the experimental industrial soundscapes and darkly erotic imagery that made :10: a true standout among his peers. As to be expected, Forsythe delves deeply into streams of sonic consciousness wherein decrepit and noisome ambience clashes and mashes with subtly harmonious waves of sound; tracks like “Dead Bodies,” “King,” and “Suffering” are wrought with dissonant layers of subsonic bass and beats, samples both organic and mechanical mingle and mangle with sampled noise and voices, all laid beneath pensive smatterings of staccato synth and piano leads. But then “My Skin” introduces the lithe and saccharine female vocals amid the angular percussive patterns, the trippy and disquieting melodies further accentuated in the three versions of “Endless,” with Aelk Minsur’s Crescent mix proving the most accessible, though one hesitates to apply even the term of dark pop to such a haunting song.

Along with the visual accompaniment on the artist’s website, a series of photographic manipulations that strengthen the musical atmosphere in a manner not dissimilar to the hardcover photo book that accompanied Eros, Why We Hurt was followed two months later by the Filth In Me EP. One can assume a thematic continuity between the two given the tonal similarities, especially noticeable on the opening title track and the subsequent “Never Afraid,” although the EP presents some facets of its own personality. For instance, the Hands of Red mix of “Filth In Me” introduces a somewhat dubstep vibe with more rhythmic effects, the pianos distorted alongside an eerie synth melody, while the atonal pads of “Open the Mirror” entices with a rather discordant progression, leaving “Watch Her Fall” to end things with another smoky bit of darkly pop noir. Although :10: may not offer some revelatory brand of experimental noise and industrial composition; however, Why We Hurt and Filth In Me at least prove that Sean Forsythe’s creative juices are still flowing strongly, marrying sound and vision into a rather engaging piece of art.
 
Track list:
Why We Hurt

1. Dead Bodies
2. Suffering
3. My Skin
4. Endless
5. King
6. Falling
7. Endless [Crescent Mix]
8. Endless [Subliminal Haze Mix]

 
Filth In Me EP

1. Filth In Me
2. Filth In Me [Hands of Red]
3. Never Afraid
4. The Old Hand
5. Open the Mirror
6. Watch Her Fall

 
:10:/Sean Forsythe
Website, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Instagram