Fatigue - We Are The Wreckage

Fatigue is a dark synthpop (though their music is inspired by and takes part in more genres than just that) solo act of Lillian Edith Martin (AKA DJ Sawtooth). The project got its start in 2020 when their debut single 'Pageantry' released. After a few singles and EPs, Fatigue went on to release their debut album "Illusory Things" (worth checking out alone due to the kitty on the cover art). And now that the new year is in full-swing, Fatigue has released their first 2021 EP "We Are The Wreckage". 

'The Cotard Delusion' kicks off this little trilogy of songs. This is a collaboration with experimental rapper Kofi the Spiderman but Fatigue would have been much better off without Kofi on the track. Experimental or not, the overblown auto-tune sounding digital effect on the rapper's voice ruins any flow that they may have had. It's an odd choice to be honest. When Fatigue's voice kicked in around the fifty-five second mark, I breathed a sigh of relief as a semblance of tone was finally heard. This was backed by phenomenal piano work and a ticking electronic sound in the background. Kofi does come in the song some more but, again, I wish they hadn't. The song finishes off with a welcome, but surprising mix of dark ambiance and electronic guitar. 



Despite the generally chill sound found in 'The Cotard Delusion', 'Mausoleum' brought me in an opposite direction. It's a straightforward, stompy EBM track with its fair share of odd electronic synthetic notes woven in between each rhythmic beat. While 'Mausoleum' does not reinvent the genre, I could easily see this mixed in a DJ set for an industrial night to get a crowd going. The last song on "We Are The Wreckage" is a Deftones cover. I took the song as is because, well, I've never really listened to the Deftones before so I had nothing to compare it to. The darkened beat and flared-up synth-walls within the song reminisced the witch-house scene, as well. There are several moments in the song, such as at the three-minute and twenty-two second mark, where down and dirty industrial completely takes over - and I love every bit of it. This song also features Thomas Rhymer Jr. of The Russian White. 

I do find it a bit tough to judge a release where I have differing opinions on each of the songs. 'The Cotard Delusion', while having some good moments, became altogether ruined due to the Kofi collaboration. However, I have to admit that I was impressed by the ending of the song. 'Mausoleum', while good for an EBM song, is nothing more than that: it sticks to the tropes of the genre and doesn't push for anything more. It is a necessity to stand out from the crowd rather than comfortably stay within it. My favorite song on the EP came from the Deftones cover for its raw ability to take over my senses without making me want to smash my face off a desk. It was well done. I give this release a 5.5 out of 10 due to these mixed feelings. Fatigue definitely has potential and I'm seeing it on this release alone. I'm sure that I'll be hearing better material - even better than the Deftones cover - in the future as Fatigue continues to mature and find their sound. And that is something I hope to hear soon! 

This review was commissioned through our Ko-fi page.
Feb 11 2021