It has been a standout year for Angel Marcloid, the dynamic Chicago musician who records as Fire-Toolz. Earlier on, Fire-Toolz released Lavender Networks, an intriguingly unconstrained album that blends glitchy electronics with uncanny-valley pop, death-metal screams, and a whole array of other elements that might not seem to fit together. Yet they do, and the result is incredibly compelling. After the album dropped, Fire-Toolz issued a remix of Wednesday and teamed up with former collaborator No Joy on the notably strong EP Big Life, Big Leaf. Now, a fresh single arrives.
For the moment, Fire-Toolz’s new track “Clustered Around My Opening!” — what a title — is a standalone release. The piece opens with a vaporwave-inflected nod to ’80s synth-funk and the mood of Angelo Badalamenti’s scores, then expands into drum’n’bass breakbeat currents and ferocious screamo vocals. The collision of disparate sounds and moods may leave listeners reeling and spent, but that is exactly the intent. This is true maximalist music. Listen below.
