"femtanyl's method for cover art involves doing an illustration and then using a phone to take a picture of it on the computer screen, spawning cruddy little Moiré pattern grids. It's a good analog for femtanyl's digital hardcore music: bitcrushed, compressed, spewing and screaming to a doomsday drum thwack. But while the artwork-femtanyl's trademark feline creature Token engulfed by flames-still teems with digital artifacts, the music on this debut album seems keen to transcend the screen."
"The production is raw but precise, a mechanical bull with adjustable shocks. "Helltarget" opens with bulbous bass pads that instruct the listener to gird their loins, before the drums crash in and Mansbridge's vocals stagger onto the scene. The next three minutes loop cyberpunk synths while flashing between ideas: a brain-smacking rap-screamo section; a vaporwavey dream hole; a movie sample."
MAN BITES DOG presents femtanyl's digital hardcore evolved into a more body-oriented rave sound. The cover-art method produces Moiré pattern grids that mirror the music's bitcrushed, compressed aesthetic. Noelle Mansbridge is assisted by Juno Callendar, whose multi-instrumental playing and production tighten the arrangements and add sound-design precision. Four-on-the-floor beats hit like spiky cleats, synth stabs slice like knives, and song lengths expand from two minutes to nearly four. Production remains raw yet precise, combining aggressive drops, rap-screamo bursts, vaporwave interludes, and second-drop theatrics. The album is often thrilling but sometimes overwhelms with excessive beats and noisy mixes.
Read at Pitchfork
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