Style: Synthwave, vaporwave, funk metal, experimental (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Mr. Bungle, The Midnight, Faith No More, Dog Fashion Disco, Carpenter Brut, Ulver
Country: United States
Release date: 14 November 2025

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Corporate industry is, at this point, a universal punching bag. Basically everyone can agree that slaving over work that does nothing but serve faceless stakeholders in an endless all-consuming rat race is, to put it lightly, not a good time. Beloved parodist Weird Al channeled this disdain on “Mission Statement”, an ironic exploration of corporatespeak expressed through the free-thinking hippie folk of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Jacob Rosenberg, keyboardist and co-founder of gothic prog rock group Vitam Aeternam, aims to take this same bit far beyond parody through side project Double Mute, self-described as ‘Corporate music for corporate people’. Will Double Mute’s debut LP, Corporate Culture_FINAL_v2, be lauded for its goal-oriented synergy, or will Rosenberg have less-than-favorable notes in his annual performance review? Let’s touch base.

An extension of the tracks on debut EP Corporate Culture, Corporate Culture_FINAL_v2 casts a dystopian cyberpunk filter on the soulless, hyper-sterile world of corporate industry. Opener “Time Cop” begins with the sound of a Microsoft Teams call as vocalist Râhoola¹, one of a deluge of guest musicians across the record, outright punishes the listener with as much middle-management lingo as he can fit into the verses. From there, Corporate Culture_FINAL_v2 fluctuates wildly between cool synthwave, bittersweet vaporwave, and brain-shredding industrial funk metal. There’s absolutely no telling what sort of turns the record will take on first listen, as it’s less connected by compositional through-lines and more by Lynchian dramatizations of otherwise insignificant business operations. The end result is something particularly direct, sinister, and self-aware, attempting to unearth a results-oriented seedy underbelly while maintaining a sense of humor about it.²

Rosenberg’s demented mission statement is baked into every part of Corporate Culture_FINAL_v2: the record exudes malice both through the characters it creates and through the whiplash given to the listener from song to song. After the relatively chill guitar wahs and glitchy electronics on opener “Time Cop”, “CEO” teeters between unfettered decadence and sociopathic mania. The track describes the megalomaniacal inner thoughts of a CEO through funky slap-bass rap breakdowns, hole-punching industrial metal, and slick, theatrical vocal harmonies. All the while, the eponymous tycoon pleads for affirmation from his mother as a tense drum pattern opens into the hysterics of a screamed rap verse. “CEO” presents a twisted commentary on excess wealth and hustle culture that is undeniably infectious despite its goofy exterior.

In similar form, “Five Minutes Back” posits its narrator as a benevolent dictator who reflects on the sheer number of life-changing opportunities opened to meeting participants by giving them five minutes back at the end of the call. ‘Choose your destiny’, as simple tasks such as ‘grabbing a snack’ or ‘taking a bio break’³ are given the same weight as ‘helping your community’ or ‘repairing your relationships’. Lyrically, the song is equal parts menacing and hilarious, but leaves something to be desired in its volcanic middle section. The instrumentation isn’t able to quite match the desired intensity and comes across as fairly tepid, though the track is able to pick up the momentum needed by the end and concludes on a satisfying horn solo. Additionally, “Sell! Sell! Cell!” successfully captures the animosity engendered for colleagues in competitive work environments, but is a bit of a dud compositionally. Across the track, chittering percussion and spacey synths overstay their welcome and pull away from the punch of the track’s climax.

Not all of Corporate Culture_FINAL_v2 embodies festering disdain; sometimes, the record is just outright silly. “Time Cop” is reprised multiple times, the first being “(Another) Time Cop”, a short piano-led cabaret that feels like an incidental piece from an early Queen record. Later still, “Time Cop_v2 (Diego Tejeida Remix)” recontextualizes Corporate Culture_FINAL_v2’s opening moments with thumping bass kicks and driving synthesizers reminiscent of Carpenter Brut; the track is high-octane, catchy, and charismatic, all the while pleading for an icebreaker and keeping steadfast to the meeting agenda. “Please Hold” is a spacey synthwave instrumental featuring clips from an automated hold voice by Katie Pachnos: ‘Your estimated wait time is… Three. Minutes. Your life is important to us. Please stay on the line until you die. Your estimated wait time is… 21,038,400. Minutes.’

The silliest track is likely “Have to Drop (The Only One There)”, where the narrator logs on to an empty Teams meeting and reflects on the subsequent loneliness. The desolation engendered through plaintive piano, grainy soundscaping, and muted vocal effects evoke the feeling of an endless digital liminal space; in this void, even something as innocuous as an empty video call feels bleak, particularly near the end when a warped voice repeatedly echoes “you’re the only one here…” from the darkness. “Have to Drop” gives immense emotional weight to a completely mundane non-situation, striking a balance between relatable, universal fears and total goofiness.

Corporate Culture_FINAL_v2 ends on “Meeting Notes”, a medley tapping into the record’s most notable moments and recontextualizing “Time Cop” one last time. “Meeting Notes” is a microcosm of Double Mute’s sound, as the listener is faced with a deluge of elements that are engaging and exciting but occasionally too chaotic for their own good. The smooth vocal callbacks from the opener and the return of the scream-rapping from “CEO” are fun inclusions, but the medley doesn’t quite transcend beyond a sum of its parts.

My feelings about Corporate Culture_FINAL_v2 vacillate on each listen. At times, I am in awe at Double Mute’s ability to coalesce utterly bonkers compositional choices into a package that is as diabolical as it is silly while achieving full KPI-aligned enlightenment. At other times, I find the experience a bit too chaotic to appreciate as a whole, especially when having to power through the comparatively weaker middle section. Regardless, Corporate Culture_FINAL_v2 does a magnificent job of instilling the liminal dread of a sterilized corporate purgatory ruled over by money-hungry megalomaniacs and out-of-touch coworkers who wildly overestimate what can be done in five minutes. While I can’t guarantee regular rotation, Corporate Culture_FINAL_v2 is a must-listen for its sheer uniqueness, charm, and complete dedication to its bit. I know I’ll be throwing it on at the next company social.

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Recommended tracks: Time Cop_v2 (Diego Tejeida Remix), CEO, Please Hold, Time Cop
You may also like: Cocojoey, Calva Louise, Fire-Toolz, Kyros, Vitam Aeternam
Final verdict: 6.5/10

Related links: Facebook | Instagram

Label: Independent

Double Mute is:
– Jacob Rosenberg: keyboards, arrangement
With guests:
– Jani Hace: bass (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10), guitars (track 5)
– Râhoola: vocals (tracks 1, 4, 6, 7, 10), piano (tracks 4, 10)
– Hans Marius Andersen: trumpet (tracks 1, 5, 9, 10)
– Davidavi Dolev: vocals (tracks 2, 10)
– John Dillon: guitars (track 2)
– Charles A. Leal: drums (track 2, 3, 5, 9, 10)
– Fire-Toolz: vocals (tracks 3, 10), guitar (track 3), bass (track 3)
– Maude Théberge: vocals (track 5)
– Raphael Weinroth-Browne: cello (tracks 6, 9, 10)
– Diego Tejeida: arrangement (track 7)
– Katie Pachnos: voice (track 8)
– Aldeni: vocals (track 10)

1. Râhoola is also known for his time in Vitam Aeternam, along with the pseudonym A Flying Fish, under which he remixed the closing medley “Meeting Notes”. ↩︎
2. The bit extends into every facet of the project and I absolutely love it—note the embedded video, which is framed as a synergy-boosing Zoom meeting gone awry, the silly easter eggs hidden on the album cover, and the literal PowerPoint slides that were submitted with the promotional material. ↩︎
3. This is undoubtedly among my least favorite corporate phrases. ↩︎