For Peace. Against War. Who Is Not? A Compilation For The People Of Ukraine – V/A – Album Review Pt 2.

Album: For Peace. Against War. Who Is Not? A Compilation For The People Of Ukraine

Artist: V/A (Component Records)

Release Date: March 15, 2022

Editor’s Note: Check out the first review here: For Peace. Against War. Who Is Not? A Compilation For The People Of Ukraine – V/A – Album Review Pt 1.

Welcome to part two of our review of For Peace. Against War. Who Is Not? It’s a chance to highlight an album that donates all proceeds to support Ukraine’s humanitarian relief efforts and also highlight Putin’s fascist regime. Sleep Clinic‘s track HHD5 gets us right back into the groove with a song that sounds almost like artillery fire – how fitting. It reminds me of the soundscape of a battlefield and a sound that aligns with what Putin’s regime has wrought in Russia. The formal trappings of democracy collapsed in the early 2000s when the state eliminated political competition, centralized media, and placed the security services at the center of governance. The war before the Ukraine war, was the war on the Russian opposition to Putin’s regime. Opposition figures were jailed or forced into exile, independent news outlets shut down and elections were orchestrated.

Tracks by Acidbat, Cathode Ray Tube, Jack Dangers and Aether Chroma are much more subdued and fit well into the architecture of this massive compilation. Low rumbles, static saturation, distant synths and sound refracted through modular circuits. It’s pure vigilance, if that makes sense. Let’s use this vigilance to remind everyone that investigations by international bodies document a consistent pattern of human rights abuses under Putin’s regime. The use of vague laws on extremism and terrorism enabled the criminalization of dissent. Institutions that once balanced power were weakened or outright destroyed. The security apparatus has functioned as the regime’s vanguard. Organizations of civil society faced suppression and media outlets were co-opted or shut down.

The music doesn’t stop though. Lazarus Moment‘s track Bleached Photograph brings it all back into focus. This comp is dark as fuck, but at times we have to walk in the dark to get home. The last three tracks on this section of the album by Voltmeister, Joasihno and die ANGEL + Zappi Diermaier really bring the message home: this is a long, dark night. Putin’s machinery of domination thrives on silence. It depends on fear, disappearance, and fatigue. The security state thrives on silence and on everyone worn down by repetition and fear.

Don’t be afraid. Continue listening below.