'Confusing Times" - the title of a slice of brand nu-darkcore by a veteran demi-legend of the original era, Jack Smooth, caught my attention - in part because the concept of confusion - druggy disoriented delirium, but also the con-fusion of disparate elements into manic collages (fissile rather than fusional) is at the heart of the dark moment - the sense that no one knew exactly what they were doing or where they were going, a collective plunge into the unknown, a kind of chaotic multi-tentacled organism birthing itself blindly, a Lovecraftian entity
And isn't the word "CONFUSION" shouted in archetypal darkcore classic "Here Come the Drumz", sampled from Public Enemy?
Why yes it is... at 30 seconds in, for the first iteration
But here in the present day, there is no confusion about what darkcore is... it's a settled genre. The ingredients and constituents are very much known, this is terra cognita, mapped and plotted... a formula even, as can be seen in the preciseness with which Mr Smooth descibes his modus operandi.
Back-in-the-day darkness from Smooth and Wax Doctor, it grinding riff nastiness could be PCP cru
Talking of titles, I like the one for this back-in-the-day Jack trak - "Happy Nonsense"!
An earlier track with another cool title - "Sweat Attack" (not as it says on the label, "Take Some E's"! which is also excellent in its blunt 'this is what this music is for' instruction)
from the Crowd Control EP (yet another clever title).
What other hardcore / darkcore songs reference the concept of "Confusion"?
Adding these suggestions from Spiro in comments....
Ed in comments mentions New Order's "Confusion", which is a bit outside the era. Never liked this tune much (too Freez "I.O.U.") but I love this video with its snapshot of Manhattan clubland in the early '80s, the Funhouse etc etc
Here's a fairly orrible mid-90s techno-trance refix of "Confusion"
