Anthony Tombling, Jr., the British musician and filmmaker known as CUTS, wrote and recorded the project's second full-length, UNREAL, primarily in lockdown after he had moved to a house in a remote location. It seems like isolating himself from society was a necessary step for him to take in order to deal with the ongoing political and environmental crises, and channel his anxiety and emotional turbulence through music. While the previous CUTS album, A Gradual Decline, was an ambitious, mainly instrumental blend of ambient, post-rock, and neo-classical, UNREAL is closer to the darkwave pop of the project's earlier EPs. The lyrics react to pandemic life and disinformation without directly addressing any specific issues, but unmistakably capturing feelings of shock, disbelief, rage, and despair. The music generally dwells within the more IDM-informed side of industrial, with steady yet broken rhythms pounding underneath dark, atmospheric synths and mildly cyborgian vocals. "DISSOLUTION" sets up with a simmering beat and sinks in with a gorgeously distorted melody. The title track has a more club-ready kick drum that is disoriented by a battering, physical-sounding clang, as Tombling periodically reflects that "This life is unreal." The mostly instrumental "SHELTERED LIFE" conveys the bitter coldness of seclusion mainly through frayed, buzzing melodies, and "THE BRINK" is a more vulnerable expression of damaged hope and helplessness. Even though it deals with the emotional effects of living through catastrophic times, the album isn't completely harsh and unforgiving, and there's an undeniable sense of humanity coursing through the work. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi

1		R U OK?
2		DISSOLUTION
3		UNREAL
4		OMEGA MINUS
5		SHELTERED LIFE
6		THE BRINK
7		EXHALE EXILE
8		AN INFINITE COLLAPSE

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