Behind the faces of the weary lies a desperation, one with the will to skewer and puncture the swelling balloon of rot, their countenances etched with the scars of battles fought under the unforgiving glare of flickering fluorescent lights and bathed in the cold digital glow of computer screens’ azure hue.
From deep within London’s corporate sanctum, from the very citadel of “synergy”, London’s absurdist jesters of the court of cubicles Human Resources emerge as unlikely prophets, grabbing sterile souls by their white collars and spitting stentorian post-punk prayers into those weary faces. Their debut EP, Malperfect is a defiant chorus of teleology translated into a tapestry of officialese and buzzwords, seeking transcendence beyond an erosive world where phrases like “synergy” and “team-building” are more sacred than genuine connection. In the relentless whirlwind of existence, where moments come and go as swiftly as a blink, the veil between slumber and enlightenment grows thinner.
“I recognise the importance of a changing mind, but I am the patron saint, of repeating my mistakes”
This sacred-strange dichotomy merges into harmony, swimming in their own contradiction. It’s a sonic tapestry woven from disparate threads, drawing the classic idea of tension and release into taut new shapes, with elastic melodies that seem to spring from a fervent mosaic of defiant noise to exultation in a mosh pit of catharsis. HR don’t fear excess: they bathe in it. Amen, they whisper amidst the noise and fervour. Amen, they cry, in celebration of unapologetic authenticity.
In the realm of played-out stagings of artificial working-class anarchists, HR dabble in the absurd. They are, “a South London startup focusing on performance-driven management solutions,” as their LinkedIn proclaims, veiled in a cloak of satirical sainthood. Theirs is a masochistic devotion, a benign spirituality for the modern-day that finds solace not in renunciation, but in the embrace of controlled chaos.
Words: Bryson Edward Howe
‘Malperfect’ is out now. Stream the EP below or purchase the two singles via Bandcamp. You can catch their EP launch show at The George Tavern in London on Thursday 17th August – tickets available here.