In the vast, often confounding landscape of experimental music, where genre lines blur into oblivion and the boundaries between noise and melody are constantly renegotiated, ZLE OKO’s "Xenos" stakes a claim with unyielding ferocity. If her 2019 debut "Cykuta" was a bold statement, "Xenos" is the artist doubling down, challenging listeners to traverse the jagged terrains of her soundscapes with open ears and unguarded minds.

Olga23, the creative force behind ZLE OKO, is no stranger to defying expectations. A former bassist for the downtempo punk outfit DNO, she’s brought her sensibilities as a visual artist and graphic designer to her music, creating aural collages that refuse to conform. "Xenos" is an extension of this defiance — a complex tapestry of "feminoise" drone, and punk that collides with industrial and illbient rhythms to create a sound both abrasive and hypnotic.

The album opens with "Las Intro", a track that immediately immerses you in its dark, throbbing ambiance. It’s like stepping into a forest at night, the shadows playing tricks on your mind, the sounds disorienting yet oddly familiar. As the album progresses, this atmosphere only deepens. "Zlo Uroslo" and "Nie chce Byc Najlepsz Wersja Siebie" marry gritty electronic textures with haunting vocal lines, offering a dissection of societal expectations and personal identity. It’s in these moments that ZLE OKO's self-described "feminoise" becomes most potent—an auditory protest against conformity and the oppression of self-expression.

The title track, "Xenos", serves as a centerpiece of sorts. Here, ZLE OKO delves into the alienation and otherness that the word implies. The track is a raw, pulsating exploration of dislocation, its rhythms as unsettling as they are compelling. If one were to venture a cinematic comparison, it could be likened to certain films by Cronenberg—disturbing yet impossible to look away from, or in this case, stop listening to.
Tracks like "Skowyt Niespelnionych Macic" and "Zle Oko" push the boundaries further, with distorted vocals and chaotic soundscapes that evoke a primal scream, both terrifying and cathartic. These pieces are not for the faint of heart; they demand engagement, reflection, and perhaps a certain masochistic pleasure in their sonic brutality.

Despite its abrasive nature, "Xenos" is not without moments of introspection. "Przepraszam" with its layered, almost fragile electronic pulses, feels like an apology wrapped in razor wire—sincere, but unwilling to be vulnerable without a fight. The album closes with "Las Outro", bookending the journey with a return to the dark forest, now more familiar, yet still shrouded in mystery.

What makes "Xenos" particularly compelling is its unapologetic refusal to fit neatly into any one category. Olga23’s influences are broad, ranging from early 90s industrial to feminist anarcho-punk, yet she distills these into something distinctly her own. The result is an album that is as much a reflection of the chaotic times we live in as it is a deeply personal statement of artistic intent.

In "Xenos", ZLE OKO continues to carve out her niche in the experimental music scene. It’s not an easy listen, nor is it meant to be. But for those willing to take the plunge, it offers a rich, if unsettling, exploration of the noise within and without.