Descartes A Kant
After Destruction

Prepare yourselves for something off the beaten track as Descartes A Kant prepare to deliver their fourth album. Loosely collected under the broad term of art rock, the previous albums are an eye-opening musical curation – occasionally noise-rock, sometimes embodying punk, often off-kilter odd, and always a fascinating listen.

‘After Destruction’ is the new album’s title track and it’s an urgent fuzz-pop delight that sets out the existential theme of the record. What we have here is psychic discomfort in a compulsively hyper-communicative but emotionally isolated society – all in musical form.

This is one of their more accessible songs, so it’s a good route into the band. The hi-hat and bass-drum intro sets an energetic rhythm for the guitars, with the final line of each verse disrupting the tempo. The chorus is brief and dual-styled, echoing the lyrics of destruction and creation.

The solo at the midway point moves us into a synth-led verse and a heavy chorus. The urge to keep the song cycling on repeat is high as you miss details the first time around. It’s a slice of wonderful melodramatic genius.

If Descartes A Kant were placed in a Sisyphean afterlife, I’m certain they’d never roll that rock uphill in the same way twice.

Watch Descartes A Kant – ‘After Destruction’.

Get Up To Speed With Descartes A Kant

Here’s a short career-spanning playlist to get you up to speed with Descartes A Kant. Search out these tracks to see what you’ve been missing.

• After Destruction (After Destruction)
• My Sweetest Headache (Paper Dolls)
• Motion Picture Dream Boy (Victims of Love Propaganda)
• Cut It Off (Il Visore Lunatique)
• Maniqui Bordello (Paper Dolls)
• Convince Me (Il Visore Lunatique)
• Crime Scene (Victims of Love Propaganda)

After Destruction Lyrics

We are uncertainty searching for certainty
If the world wants to break I’ll scream

Sob with ecstasy
My dreams left me
If the world wants to break I’ll scream

There will be creation after destruction, you’ll see

Sob with ecstasy
My dreams left me
If the world wants to break I’ll scream

There will be creation after destruction, you’ll see

Written by Fenton on 26th August 2023

Steve Fenton writes in our music, words, and culture categories. He was Editor in Chief for The Mag and covered live music for DV8 Magazine and Spill Magazine. He was often found in venues throughout the UK alongside ace-photographer, Mark Holloway. Steve is also a technical writer and programmer and writes gothic fiction. Steve studied Psychology at OSC, and Anarchy in the UK: A History of Punk from 1976-1978 at the University of Reading.

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