Discovering KEN mode so close to the release of their latest album, NULL, made the wait very short for me compared to longtime fans who’ve been writhing in suspense since 2018’s Loved. What captivated me at first with KEN mode‘s sound was the combination of the explosive vocal delivery and pummelling aggression in their songwriting coupled with interesting production details. All of that is still present on NULL but more refined. As a big fan of the direction they took with the closer “No Gentle Art” on Loved (which is also my favourite track on that album), it’s a real treat to see KEN mode continuing writing slow building and slightly lower tempo songs.
Leaving the listener with the repeated screams of “STOP GIVING ME HOPE” as a closing plea on Loved, on NULL there’s absolutely no hope left. The album embodies a dystopian grey static that sends out electric shockwaves of anger, hate and debilitating depression. There’s literally a crackling sound present most of the runtime. It’s especially prominent on “The Tie” which has a type of pulsating electricity co-existing with a raging monologue. I can’t help but to draw parallels to Howard Shore‘s “Sauron’s theme” from Lord of the Rings when a wailing high-pitched guitar melody enters the soundscape at around 0:58. If you look at the lyrics “A lidless eye, rose red and reeling, perceiving nothing save an endless seething”, I might not be too far off about that supposed reference.
It is evident that the band has improved their ability to structure and write an album. NULL ebbs and flows between hate and hopelessness in a manner that escapes the trappings of the monotonous tempo present on previous releases. At first I thought the intensity of the vocal performance was too muted and needed a bit more punch and desperation, but after digesting the album I think the slightly quenched passion is very appropriate for the theme of the record. When the closer fades out and you’re just sitting there during the last empty seconds of the track, you’re left with this feeling of a grey void enveloping your whole body. There’s something deeply impactful about that.
