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Over the past decade or so I’ve noticed a trend with some of the more prominent synthwave and dark synth artists. Early on their material tended to be a purer representation of the genre, focusing entirely on the heavy beats and darker synth tones, while later albums would bring in a wide range of guests and emphasize more on the vocal front. Perturbator and Carpenter Brut are two prominent examples that have gone through this cyclical sound, with the former putting out an album with plenty of guest spots last year. For Carpenter Brut, it was 2022’s Leather Terror, the second in a trilogy of albums that went for a more dynamic sound and had a slew of guests ranging from Greg Puciato to Sylvaine. There was a bit more melody as well as synthpop, and while not every moment hit the mark it showcased a natural expansion of the established sound. For those that may not have been as hooked by that direction, they’ll be happy to find that the final album in the trilogy Leather Temple strips things back to the basics and focuses completely on the instrumentation with no guest spots or vocals in sight. It’s a great way for Carpenter Brut to recapture the vibe of his EP trilogy while demonstrating how the songwriting has evolved.
Where Leather Terror jumped around a lot in terms of style, Leather Temple feels more focused on the flow between each of its tracks and they naturally transition into each other. That’s not to say that it is uniform from one song to the next, but it recalls Carpenter Brut’s earlier EP’s and the way they formed a narrative with just the instrumentation. The album come out of the gate with strong hooks, as the short intro “Ouverture (Deus Ex Machina)” leads right into the booming rhythms and moodier synths of “Major Threat”. The sound will be instantly familiar for anyone that’s followed Carpenter Brut or the wider synthwave genre, but it does a good job of switching between more subdued and darker nuances alongside the huge, room filling sections. Sometimes you’ll get shifts into heavier more metallic leaning territory, while others emphasize a bit more of that 80s synth pop and film score approach. “Neon Requiem” is a highlight on the pop side of the spectrum with its inclusion of saxophone and bouncier rhythms, while my personal favorite song is “Start Your Engines” which has some synth lines that mimic the types of sounds you’d hear in a futuristic racing video game. Comparing Leather Temple to earlier works it’s clear that the writing has grown to incorporate a lot of the subtler elements from the past two elements, but it’s also recaptured that more straightforward sound of the earlier works. Admittedly the title track and a few of the others are a bit too straightforward to the point of repetition, while closer “The End Complete” feels overstretched at six minutes in length. There’s nothing that derails things too far, but a few additional tweaks could’ve made for an even more impactful listen.
Some repetitive moments do put a slight damper on things, but overall this is a strong finish to the Leather trilogy and has plenty of standout moments that fans of everything synth driven will enjoy. Leather Terror may have had a bit more variety, but this album feels a bit more cohesive and focused in how it presents its cinematic narrative which makes me prefer it slightly more. It’s exciting to hear Carpenter Brut in this form though, as his writing has gotten more ambitious in scope and it’s clear that just as much can be done without lots of guest spots. Leather Temple is available from No Quarter Productions.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg