The Fateful Symmetry

Mark Stewart broke ground as the confrontational frontman for revolutionary art-punk deconstructionists the Pop Group, followed by his records with the Maffia (aka Tackhead) which forcefully slammed together the production tricks of dub reggae, industrial, and early hip-hop. He was often cited as a major influence by numerous trip-hop, techno, and digital hardcore artists, and his 2022 album VS featured an extensive list of collaborators including Lee "Scratch" Perry, Mike Watt, Front 242, and longtime associate Adrian Sherwood. The Fateful Symmetry, completed shortly before Stewarts death in 2023, was posthumously issued by Mute, which released all of his solo work during the 80s and 90s. On this album, Stewart sounds as urgent as he always did, but his lyrics primarily focus on reflections of the past, and he resembles more of a time-worn crooner than the neurotic, post-punk shouter he used to be. He worked with co-producer Youth (Killing Joke, the Orb) on some of the songs, including "Memory of You," a dystopian synthwave number with unusually icy backing vocals from Hollie Cook. Stewart gives a dramatic performance as he struggles to escape the memories haunting him, and he sounds like hes trying to drink away his sorrows at a lonely piano bar during "Stable Song" and the partially spoken "This Is the Rain." A noisy cumbia/reggae cover of fellow Bristolians the Korgis "Everybodys Got to Learn Sometime" is both a sonic curveball and sage life advice. The apocalyptic dub blues of "Crypto Religion" seems like it would be a return to political subject matter, but its as personal as the rest of the album, as Stewart laments, "This is how I live now, some days are better than others." "Blank Town" is the albums only fast, punky song, and in this context, it comes across as one final cathartic release. Some of the ideas on The Fateful Symmetry seem a bit mismatched, and not all of the songs really work, but it does have its poignant moments. ~ Paul Simpson