One of the most consistently interesting bands currently treading the boards in the UK underground, Modern Technology made their riotous entrance in 2019 with a self-titled EP that set SonicAbuse alight with a 10/10 review, and which has lost none of its allure in the intervening years. The band hardly rested on their laurels, following the EP up with the equally astounding Service Provider LP, as well as a split 7” and a pair of live releases. Now back with Conditions Of Worth, the duo (comprising Chris Clarke and Owen Gildersleeve), offer up another 8 tracks of deliriously original art rock.
The first thought that hits when the needle hits the groove is “Holy shit, Modern Technology have really nailed their sound”. Opening track Dead Air sounds like Helmet on Ketamine, Owen’s towering drums set against Chris’ stabbing bass, all of which provides a fitting backdrop for the gritty, threatening vocals. When the weighty riffs really pile in, it elevates things yet another level, resulting in a wall of sound that sets the pulse racing, making for one hell of a start to the album. Next up, arcing feedback announces the harrowing arrival of Lurid Machines, a menacing, doom-laden trawl through the sort of heavily distorted sludge that Melvins have made their stock in trade. Then there’s Salvation, which features a corrosive bass riff that sounds like the band blew the console out and just kept tracking. Quite from what it offers salvation remains unclear but, as the track progresses, airy synths trace a gorgeous melody in the air, and the result is a hypnotic piece that seems to shimmer between the speakers. The first half of the record concludes with The Space Between, a slow-burning epic that explores a very different set of dynamics, the band carving out a sound that sits somewhere between latter day Massive Attack and the Jesus Lizard – only for the riffs to return with punishing force as the paranoia and anxiety threaten to overwhelm. Truly mesmerising, it is one of the finest pieces of music Modern Technology have yet recorded.
Opening the second half, the short Fully Detached is an ugly assault on the senses that collapses under its own weight. The enigmatic Lane Control proves to be a leaner beast, based around a clean bass line and deft percussive flourishes. Providing a neat counterpoint to the ferocious noise of its predecessor, it nonetheless evolves, with Chris’ vocals stretched to breaking point as the music becomes increasingly agitated. At ten minutes in length, the album’s title track is a genuinely progressive workout. Awash with feedback, and delivered with unhinged energy, it is monolithically heavy, although deftly arranged to allow post punk elements to creep in, keeping the listener hooked for the duration. Devastating, but with myriad layers making it endlessly replayable, it’s easy to see why the band named the album for it, as it sees Chris and Owen stretching a familiar format into whole new shapes. The album concludes with Believer, a short coda that feels like a continuation of the preceding piece. It provides the album with a breathlessly brutal finale, its nearest cousin being the guitar-trashing antics of Nirvana’s Endless Nameless.
Modern Technology are one of the most thrillingly vital alternative acts out there and, with Conditions Of Worth, they have improved upon an already remarkable formula to create something of genuine depth, emption, and musical skill. Ferocious, but with plenty of dynamic, they avoid the one dimensional trap into which so many of their contemporaries fall. As a result, the album emerges as a monumental achievement, played with heart and produced with skill. Conditions Of Worth may just be the best outing from Modern Technology yet. 10/10
