Room 23 Music has just unleashed the latest sonic transgression from the French sound provocateur known as Autist: “Les Fleurs du Mal.” This daring EP, released on the Spirit of Progress imprint, is an uncompromising exploration of the bleak, the beautiful, and the brutally honest corners of the human (and perhaps neurodivergent) experience. Prepare for a journey into soundscapes that challenge, confront, and ultimately captivate.

Autist throws down the gauntlet with “Chaotic Harmony,” the EP’s opening salvo. This track unfolds with a slow-burning intensity, a relentless rhythmic noise mechanic that is abrasive, obsessive, and physically demanding. It’s a sonic confrontation with inner architecture, channeling themes of neurodiversity through sheer repetition and building tension, forcing a stark examination of the self.

The EP then takes a turn inward with “You Lied to Me,” a ghostly soundscape scarred by acidic pulses and echoing voids. The space created here is not one of comfort or solace, but rather a stark arena for dissection, inviting listeners to confront uncomfortable truths and raw emotions laid bare.

Finally, the title track, “Les Fleurs du Mal,” serves as a potent fusion of the EP’s preceding extremes. It inhabits a grey zone where pain and clarity intersect, where corrosive sonic textures meet haunting rhythmic echoes in the desolate space between. This track encapsulates the EP’s overarching theme of finding a strange and unsettling beauty within the darker aspects of existence.

For those with a penchant for sonic provocation and a willingness to explore the fringes of electronic sound, Autist’s “Les Fleurs du Mal” on Room 23 Music’s Spirit of Progress is an essential listen. Dive into this uncompromising sonic landscape and discover the bleak beauty within.