Tehran-based brother-and-sister duo AM debut their eponymous EP on NURSE. The fourth release by the Berlin
label is a seismic intersection of dark, thumping electronica and Iranian avant-garde experimental.
Evocative and nurturing as it is chaotic and oppressive, the intoxicating eccentricities of Iran's bustling metropolis
are mirrored in AM's distinctive sound. The restless tension between opposites is omnipresent in this record,
forming a visceral backbone to this hypnotic tour de force.
?Silent Song? is a fitting overture. A distorted
crescendo with vocals crying out ?I'll never see the
dawn? in ennui on a hypnotic loop is brutally
upstaged by a distorted, mechanical force. In
?Nastaran? the vocals are sung in the traditional
Persian musical style of Tasnif. It's a shapeshifting
entity where echoing ceremonial-like wails
aggressively mutate into drones galore, while
pertaining its solemn quality. The song's remix by
Scarlit Port - fourth track on the EP - pushes its
melodic scale further by upping the tempo and
placing dark, twisted beats over mystically
enhanced vocals. ?Shameless? reveals and unfolds
itself with gusto, aptly merging metallic drums and
breaks in a thumping fashion.
AM is a hypnotic rapture, an unexpected
dichotomy of sounds with a decidedly rebellious
imprint - a bold expression of Tehran's pulsating
musical underbelly.