Thirteen Tales of Depravity by Stice

For fans of Black Dresses, Suicide, Melt-Banana, industrial hip hop, and reflecting chaotic energy back into the world, Thirteen Tales of Depravity by Stice recounts stories of dead-end escapism in the form of a driving, energizing electropunk album. Minimal beats still embody progressive songwriting principles through virtuosic progressions and inventive harmonies, blending the dazzlingly complex with the harshly straightforward to deliver the perfect combination of power and finesse. At blistering tempos and crushing volume, we dive headfirst into a culture dancing its demons away and dulling deep, interior pain with the day-to-day struggle of flippant heartbreak. This radical act of rebellion feels emancipatory here given the album’s futuristic production and defiant vocals, a veneer which introduces a whole set of questions regarding the utility of escapism. If we’ve relegated our trauma to a distant recess of our subconscious, we’ve already won in a way, even if said subconscious continues to influence us in inexplicable ways at all times. When reality becomes inescapable and incorrectable, escape becomes the closest possible avenue to freedom, and our dance emancipates.