DisAgreement Online

I don’t know whether to consider Dontnod a musical duo, or rather the project of David Funez who just switches his co-musicians between EPs. On his debut Edge Of Infinity, he relied on the services of David Schmit, formerly of Eternal Tango. For his second and new EP No Future, the songwriting has been in charge of Marc Muller, better known with his alternative metal band Mean To You and bassist for melodic death metal band Miles To Perdition.

This partnership doesn’t imply that we get some kind of metal music, instead the two musicians are combining their different genres like rap, rock and electro into a tasteful amalgam that might pass as a contemporary kind of crossover. If you look five years into the past of David Funez, he still performed punk infused alternative rock under the name Fou. Since then, he has turned into a rapper who also likes to sing. Marc Muller, although better known for his metal work, also has released a pure electro / techno album in the past. So there are a lot of different spices coming together.

The opener Brasshole is a perfect entry into the EP with intense rap vocals, dark electro rock music with a lot of pathos courtesy of the studio strings, and a dramatic chorus to finish it all off. The following Shikara stays the course, is maybe a little less aggressive, favouring instead an R&Bish mood that still maintains its edge due to David’s scratchy vocals. Insomnia is another – let’s say – typical Dontnod track that juxtaposes rap verses with catchy sung choruses. The title track is adding some techno sounds that gives the EP a welcome variety, while Primal Fear is once again following the duo’s by now established recipe. The concluding Never Loose features Luxembourgish rap duo BC One & Ape on Luxembourgish vocals, which works perfectly well and ends the EP on a high note.

There is a bit of schizophrenia going on on No Future. The actual sound is quite modern. The rap meets rock approach has a definite nineties crossover influence, whereas the dark cyberpunkish attitude recalls dystopian visions from the eighties. One thing’s for sure: David Funez’s dark approach on rap works well with Marc Muller’s sound design, and together they have created an accessible vision of their rap rock concoctions, woven together by the skilful production talents of Sacha Hanlet (Them Lights). At times one might have wished for them to stray occasionally away from the sometimes too predictable songwriting, but in the context of an EP, this is not a major drawback. As far as I have understood, Dontnod will have a different songwriter the next time, and if one thing is certain, it’s that Marc Muller’s follower will have a hard time matching this.