Start Your Engines! Carpenter Brut’s supersonic new album ‘Leather Temple’
The pioneering darksynth musician, whose collaborations include Ulver, Ghost and League of Legends, promises action-star anthems in 4th album.
Photo: Carpenter Brut
To an extent, you know what you’re getting with Carpenter Brut, the French synth musician behind some of the genre’s defining records; high-octane, up-to-eleven synthwave cuts that sound like they should be soundtracking a boss battle on the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 or Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. It’s non-stop synthesiser crescendoes, explosive choruses and neon tubing.
That said, Leather Temple — Brut’s fourth studio release following 2022’s Leather Terror — really does feel like, in his own words, a Syntherpunk Hyperdrive Through Time. With helpful, chapter-esque titles breaking down each act (Major Threat, She Rules the Ruins, The End Complete), it’s a ten-track epic whereby each track offers a fresh perspective, a new character in the wordless lore of this world.
The title track, for instance, goes balls-to-the-wall on heavy metal, while the follow-up She Rules the Ruins is a classic synthwave rocker. Start Your Engines packs the lovable ‘8-bit-iness’ of a video game soundtrack, while Neon Requiem is just missing some lyrics about castles and wizards to become a power metal masterpiece.
There’s genuinely a lot to love here, and it doesn’t feel like just any other synthwave release since the genre’s mainstream popularity in the early 2010s. Leather Temple builds on the sound of predecessors Leather Teeth (2018) and Leather Terror, somehow doubling down on the massive musical highs and fast-paced digital skirmishes. It’s richer, more ambitious and a whole lot bigger in scope. It’s a journey through crime-ridden streets, faceless mega-corporations and underground, android resistance — and it feels spectacular.
Leather Temple is out now via No Quarter Prod / Virgin Records France.
