Civilistjävel! - 1

Back to where the mythos began with this reissue of the first record by prime shadow world operatives, Civilistjävel!. 2018 seems a long time ago now (guess what? It is - five years, bloody hell), back when the mysterious producer(s?) first landed on the collective radar with an origin story that alleged their music was made in private in Sweden in the 1990s and remained undocumented until that point. And that was it, no other biography, no face to the unpronouncable name, a tricksy ruse fit for the minimalist, dub-centred electronics it advertised. A few years on, we know a little more, the veil having been lifted a touch (but not all the way, mind you - some questions do remain), but what hasn't changed is the austere power of this perfectly curated 35 minutes - excess-free, lonely as a cloud, pure ice in its veins. And for how minimal it is, it's remarkably evocative of very specific imagery, of empty snowfields, industrial wasteland, isolated expanse: you see it as you hear it. We call that world building. The story helped with that, but what this reissue reminds us is that the real power was always in the music itself. The backstory and timeline are irrelevant, this is timeless business.