Originally surfacing as a double cassette before a 2012 re-release which included two compilation tracks,
Mutations et Prothèses was one of the many efforts that
Etat Brut put out as they staked a claim in the late-'70s and early-'80s tape underground on the proto-industrial/gloom front. Little surprise that a reissue did surface, if only because it's such a compelling release in its own right. Certainly it's a little startling and interesting to hear "Informations" emerge from a screaming murk somewhere between early
Bauhaus and early
Christian Death -- rhythmic, ominous, and more than a little gone. "Malaise" is as close to actual industrial music as one could theoretically want, with rhythms that could almost be nothing else but train engines or some form of mechanism on an endless loop, with bursts of lyrics obscured through a harsh haze or abbreviated basslines. The female narrator/announcer on "Crash" provides an alternate way through the style, as does the slightly calmer collection of tones. Slowing down the voices on "Douce Nuit" while retaining the obscurity, and adding a catchy if minimal guitar part that's half radio feedback over quick buried pulses, is another twist, while the compressed, squelched stop-start rhythm of "Marche" also stands out. Of the bonus tracks, "Solicitation" consists of a watery-sounding female voice overlaid with humming and clattering rhythms sounding like they're from underwater, while "Psychosomatique" drones and stutters in a proto-glitch/synth freak way. ~ Ned Raggett