James Ferraro “Eternal Condition/Stuck 2”

24 Jul 2013 — Andrew Wagner

“Eternal Condition/Stuck 2” are the first tracks to surface from Ferraro’s upcoming LP, NYC, Hell 3:00 AM. The tracks find Ferraro continuing his descent into darkness, hinted at by both his recent Cold mixtape and the NYC trailer, which described “the dark heaven and the power of the buildings, sentinels, pushing us to pretend humanity” in a surprisingly affectless computerized voice. “Eternal Condition” finds Ferraro crooning “Did you wish yourself away?” above violins and an occasional hip-hop beat, whose presence only magnifies the haunting quality of the song. A muddled and static-y voice of a police dispatcher interrupts, only to cut to a mixture of pulsating noise and more string chords. There isn’t much hope in either of these songs, perfectly fulfilling Ferraro’s promise of NYC being “a surreal psychological sculpture of American decay and confusion, a map of New York’s nihilism and its self referential hedonism.” Though it’s certainly a far cry from the cheery delirium of Ferraro’s computer muzak masterpiece, Far Side Virtual, NYC, Hell 3:00 AM promises to be one of Ferraro’s most complex works yet.

Listen to "Eternal Condition/Stuck 2" below. NYC, Hell 3:00 AM is available from Hippos in Tanks on October 15.