ADARKAH IANQU'S MOTEL FOR SCHIZOS: DESPERATION, DOUBT AND DEPARTURE

In listening to Adarkah Ianqu’s latest release, motel for schizos, I couldn't help but dip into horrifying fancies of the strained-brained sort, which means Norman Bates, Leatherface, and Farmer Vincent (remember "Motel Hell"?), but there's more to the artist’s intent than maniacal nods.  Motel for schizos sews as much a cursed, commoner’s thread as a weird, pop-cultural one, commemorating those afflicted by desperation, doubt and an urge for departure, all leading to recycled "sanctuaries" beyond the beaten path.

As far as the desperation goes, there are select tracks to invoke the dire sensation to a tee. The opening selection, "the wisdom is unenviable" hits upon the pain of knowing too much, whether it's the discovery of a disease or a loss of a job or marriage. The track's long, dripping descent projects all the nail-biting anguish that comes with such related impending doom and therefore, sets the tone for its companion pieces: each a symbolic room along some desolate road, in which the worst ruminations percolate. 

In this respect, "who are you?" and "despicable" denote a further realization of one's situation: the former ascending like "A Clockwork Orange" and the latter knuckling into Morlock grimness. To numb their sting, "the first pill" promises an antidote, but one finds it's made of candy: tasty, but cure-less at best.

Embellishing one's stagnant state is "good morning bloodletting" and "cigarettes for breakfast", which represent the initiation of doubt: pursuits to quell one's condition but never with satisfaction. They're joined by "hectic means fool" and "everyday conium", which project the hollow hours that follow before the next nauseating fix. 

Throughout these doleful submissions, the room-to-room escapades mount, with departure represented in a string of traveling sounds: "evader" being the most epic, presenting a near half hour of frantic flight, which in turn promotes the trap-door sensations called "ideal suicide" and "shut up now", which tease release, but deliver one back to first base, in the same room with the same wracking woes. 

Ianqu reminds us that we can't escape the curses we forge. We are our own captors, no matter where we roam.

Book your stay at
https://adarcahianku.bandcamp.com/album/motel-for-schizos-f20?fbclid=IwAR0Tts1R8XxIGHxStFk0_Hq-1QHbLhpy5eIgS94Y2WfiIP2XQk49BL5K5Xc.