The 11-track Come On Stupidity by Dublin experimental artist The Face Of Human Error is not a collection of songs. Rather it is like the soundtrack to an as yet unmade but nonetheless scary movie.
Cooked up with a recipe of synths, droning basslines and sparse voice samples, the final result is of uncertain ethnic or musical origin though the ghost of DJ Shadow may lurk somewhere hereabouts. The dish doesn’t taste of anything in particular but in the cold light of day you might be tempted back for a second helping.
On what is a mainly instrumental album, vocal samples are used sparingly, but they leave a lasting (and slightly creepy) impression. Check exhibit A: the repetitive pleas of an old man, “Why don’t you leave me alone” on ‘Loner’. Or exhibit B: the very cheerful sample lyric which goes, “Everyone will dance on your grave” on ‘Everyone Will Dance’. Mixing violin and voice samples with dance beats, the latter is the only moment here which comes close to mimicking conventional song structures.
While elsewhere tribal screams and ominous angelic chants bring a human presence to the soundscape, they also add to the macabre feel. Come On Stupidity is as far from easy listening as you can get. But who needs easy listening anyway?