The debut album Cong! from Australia's Cong Josie traverses a hyperreal world of romance and contorted machismo. It is an electric place of sleaze, smoke and gyrating hips. Below the throbbing synth rhythms, early rock'n'roll kicks simmer. Cong Josie is the new project and alter ego of Nic Oogjes of Heat Beat ensemble NO ZU. The sound, soul, and voice of Cong manifests from deep within Nicolaas' psyche. Noir narratives are in constant friction with his personal confessions. It's a wild ride that is always mutating, merging influences like a half-remembered fever dream. Rockabilly leaning vocals muscle into EBM club settings, which in turn are washed rose-tinted by crooning balladry. All of this is perfect prey for post-punk rave-ups that lead ultimately to swamp-synth stomping and end of world revelry and back again. Somehow though, no matter where Cong! struts, its vision remains singular, its world remains its own and a feeling of ease pervades the lot. There is no doubt that Cong's wink-and-a-grin humour provides the perfect refreshment to swallow this one big x-rated pill. It invites the listener in and welcomes them to be a part of it all. Meanwhile, it is his distinctive Aussie twang and the bricolage of historical influences on show that firmly place the LP in the here (Australia), the now (2021) and maybe even... a hyperreal parallel universe.
