Listening to… Lyonnais

Lyonnais, Want for Wish for Nowhere. A knock-out blend of sluggish New Romantic waifishness and blaring industrial noise. Goes much farther than you expect, so keep your finger on the headphone volume control. On the opener “Transitive Properties of Youth,” the din which grows from an intimate classically tinged intro sticks around long enough to take several different forms, from minimalist to glam. The shortest cut, “A Sign From on High” at 1:56, sounds like a netherworld orchestra tuning up, and leads into the distant and intently deadening “Modern Cavalry.” The techno beats unfurl for the album closer “Dusted at Mount Sinai,” becoming a military or tribal stomp rather than the expected dance tune. The shocks and surprises are constant. I imagine that if the legendary 1970s collaboration between Tony Conrad and Faust had concentrates on melodies and jams rather than drones, it might have turned out something like this.