Ramleh - The Great Unlearning (Album Review)

Ramleh - The Great Unlearning

(2019)

My copy: 2019 press by Nashazphone.

Enigmatic British noise project Ramleh operated in the power-electronics scene primarily in the 80s, pushing the boundaries of both music and aesthetics. Fast forward to their most recent release come 2019, The Great Unlearning: an expansive, modern output that retains a characteristic ferocity nearly 40 years after their debut. 

Ramleh’s identity is rooted in density, though the vulgarity of their past is tempered within the lengthy “Futureworld,” which hums and drones across a wide, enchanting landscape fueled by kraut-influenced percussion - their improvisational melodies radiating like a ship coasting through space. Embracing goth and post-punk now is “The Twitch,” propelled by slamming drums and venomous bass. A vocal mantra adds to the onslaught, with simple rhythms allowing the artists to release several discharges of swirling mid-frequency textures. The key word is hypnosis - which is only possible in their reluctance to abuse piercing high frequencies. “Blood Aurora” does develop a harsher electronic grit, hissing with steam like in some tech-dystopia, though nothing is ever offensively rigid. 

These longer electronic instrumentals are the peaks of the record: the bass scanning like a laser as it searches for any organic survivors on a war-torn Earth that is unrecognizable. Returning to vocal post-punk is “No Music For These Times,” using a warped voice to convey tales of ruin. The more traditional bouts can, at times, flounder in theatrics however, placing the creative weight on the instrumentals. “Religious Attack” does feature chanted vocals, but twisted through radio static and rigorous aural panic. 

Continuing with themes of injustice and war, “Racial Violence” creates structural skirmishes around grimey, shell-shocked bass as the music rages into all-out chaos. “You’re Village Has Been Erased” combines slowcore with a sort of restless industrial thrashing - like Godflesh with a conscience. The final two eight-minute songs continue to intrigue with the perpetually alien “Procreation As An Imperialist Act” and the monumental, pseudo-black-metal rampage of “Natural Causes.”

Ramleh do make their beliefs clear within their lyrics, but their ability to convey these ideas through harrowing ambience alone is far more impressive. The Great Unlearning is also not without sincere beauty and pop influence - even branching out into psychedelia in their electronic jam sessions so as to vary the intensity of their message. Some concepts are conveyed in less convincing manners, but The Great Unlearning is a multi-faceted powerhouse of atmosphere that justifies its nearly indulgent length.