MANCHESTER BULGE / PISS ENEMA split C17 (Black Ring Rituals Records)

SORRY FOR THE LAG IN POSTING. MY RURAL INTERNET IS NO GOOD BUT I THINK WE'LL BE BACK ON TRACK WITH DAILY POSTS STARTING TODAY - ed.

Black Ring Rituals Records from North Dakota brings us this split featuring Manchester Bulge and Piss Enema. Manchester Bulge’s side of this split is a single piece (perhaps a live set?) that maintains a consistent yet dynamic flow throughout. It’s an enjoyable wash of sound, frequently rhythmic, evoking something like a War of the Worlds oscillator assault. Pulsing electronics and whooshing feedback whirl together to form a buzzing, robotic whole. There are intermittent bursts of harsher sound (seemingly distorted and looped samples?) that provide nice punctuation to the sweeping backdrop of the oscillator hum.

Piss Enema’s contribution to the split is a bit more anxious sonically. Electronics sputter along and piercing, high-frequency tones weave in and out. This side of the tape has a grittier quality than the other. The textures are chaotic and menacing, like the internal churning of some post-industrial machinery complex. Both sides are solid noise sets though and worth a listen.   

https://blackringrituals.bandcamp.com/album/manchester-bulge-piss-enema-split

--P. Karras

SALMARI “Agnosia” C28 (Black Ring Rituals Records)

Side A of the tape, a single track called “Revenge Bidding,” starts as a confluence of recorded voices and drones that rises from a hectic crucible of sound and gradually stretches out, becoming a chant-like pulse. Colorful and contrasting patterns follow, from synthesized tones to tangles of noise to peaceful sustain. This track is restless but never in a hurry, though it covers much space.

Side B, “Chasm / Fuck Whole Foods,” includes distorted vocals alongside industrial clanks and ringing. The side begins with a Gregorian chant-y reciting of the line “I will always be alone,” that repeats and builds in trancelike progression. The piece develops gradually and elongates as it continues, becoming ethereal and drifting, a sonic mist covering the metallic clanging below. The vocals on this side really bring the various other elements together (and the other elements are various, from prepared piano to metallic churnings). There are portions of warped and twisting vocal samples, sung and spoken lyrics, and consolatory whispers. Overall, this music is very enjoyable and diverse, an interesting ride throughout.

https://blackringrituals.bandcamp.com/album/agnosia


--P. Karras