Ada Rook is a creator who transcends the vagaries of life through an abundant body of work, multiplying releases since 2015 and bearing witness to her artistic evolution practically in real-time. While a wide range of electronic currents are evoked in the course of her discography, be it ambient, chillwave, noise, witch house, and others, the industrial constant is the thread to follow. She grafts on grindcore, pop, and musique concrète, whatever she deems best illustrates her state of mind and drives her lyrics, which are like a personal diary of the human being behind the music.
Such a dense body of work allows the listener to judge how far she has come, and the proposition has become considerably tougher in recent years. Unkillable Angel marks a kind of comeback for the artist, who, in retrospect, has taken the longest break between two projects – two years – for a variety of reasons, all of which feed into the subject matter of her latest offering. Musically, Unkillable Angel hits hard from the very first track, and you’re hooked in less than two. Frantic, fast-paced, interspersed with passages reminiscent of retro video games, the references follow one another and clash, and you’re tempted to take a break halfway through, so overwhelmed are you, wondering what’s going on.
One senses an urgency to freeze inspiration and publish one’s emotions in the moment. It’s catchy at times, but a closer look at the voluminous discography reveals that this is Ada Rook’s modus operandi, and that what she offers is just as she intended it, flaws included. And that’s where the experimental label comes into its own: it doesn’t have to be 12 minutes of discordant sounds, it’s above all an approach and, for the artist, a playground where anything goes. It’s a maelstrom that converges for the duration of an album, fed by currents that may seem contrary, but through Ada Rook’s vision, everything makes sense and has its place. Let yourself be carried away, even if you don’t know where you’ll end up.
