BONES - Augmented

BONES releases Augmented on April 21, 2018 via the TeamSESH label using an experimental approach: all the tracks are recorded using the same collaborative model. The album features eight songs, with cat soup officially credited on every track. This arrangement creates a sound architecture where no vocal variation disrupts the coherence of the project. Chronologically, the album sits between two other works by the artist from 2018, CARCASS and LivingSucks, forming a discographic triangle focused on a single year.

LaboratoryEvacuation inaugurates a universe with only one guest vocalist

The opening track is LaboratoryEvacuation, track 1. This title introduces the operating principle: cat soup's voice is credited as a guest.

The hegemony of cat soup: eight tracks, one single guest vocalist

The heart of the album is defined by the persistence of the same guest artist on all the recordings. On the eight tracks that make up the album, Augmented explicitly displays cat soup's name on each track, from LaboratoryEvacuation to MirrorMirrorOnTheWall. This uniformity transforms the album into a continuous session dedicated to a single vocal collaboration. The tracklist confirms this strict rule with titles like Pesticide, FlawedDesign, GoOnWithoutMe, Incompatible, RetinaScanner, and LowResDreams. Each title is labeled "feat. cat soup", meaning that the artist does not resort to a diverse panel of collaborators but opts for a total immersion in the sound of this single guest.

LowResDreams delves into the TeamSESH aesthetic through total immersion

The track shares the same configuration as FlawedDesign and GoOnWithoutMe, where cat soup's presence is confirmed by the official credit present on the track list. The album offers no alternative to this formula, as the eight tracks are designed to function exclusively with this guest.

FlawedDesign and GoOnWithoutMe: variations of the total featuring

The tracks FlawedDesign and GoOnWithoutMe illustrate the continuity of this collaborative strategy without the introduction of new partners. On these tracks, the name cat soup remains identical to that of the other tracks. The tracklist shows no inclusion of another artist to break with this pattern. Even on the tracks that appear later in the playback order, such as RetinaScanner, the formula remains unchanged. This absence of change in the credits is a fundamental characteristic of the album. Each mention of "feat. cat soup" on these eight tracks confirms that the artist chose not to diversify his vocal lineup within this recording.

MirrorMirrorOnTheWall seals the cycle of a monolithic collaboration

The second half of the album maintains the same collaborative rhythm with tracks like Incompatible and Pesticide. These songs continue the trajectory established by the previous tracks, without introducing any break in the composition of the feature collaborations. Cat Soup's name remains on the credits of these tracks, ensuring a consistent identity throughout the album. This regularity confirms that the album functions as a complete cycle dedicated solely to this artistic relationship. The absence of other names in the tracklist underscores the exclusivity of this collaboration.

MirrorMirrorOnTheWall: the final reflection point

The album's strategy becomes a reflection of this: while the overall discography spans several years, this specific record condenses a full collaboration into eight tracks, confirming that this vocal unity with cat soup is a conscious decision made in the midst of a discographic context where BONES simultaneously explores different artistic directions without waiting for the passage of subsequent years. The recording ends on track 8, titled MirrorMirrorOnTheWall. This closing track seals the journey that began with the first track by maintaining cat soup's presence in the credits. The cycle ends without questioning the initial formula. The album presents a symmetrical structure where the opening and closing share the same principle of featuring. After this opus, the artist will continue his career with ForbiddenImage in 2021, but on Augmented, the discipline is that of a monolithic collaboration.

Technical details

- Release date : April 21, 2018 - Label : TeamSESH - Tracks : 8 - Opening / closing : LaboratoryEvacuation / MirrorMirrorOnTheWall - Guests : cat soup - Previous album : CARCASS (2018)