I got this tape from james squeeky when Argumentix rolled through town, he played a great set of almost industrial music, at once totally intimidating and fierce while maintaining a certain playfulness that made the music that much more approachable. After the set we traded some tapes (bummed i didn't get the invisible scratch picklz bootleg tape) and i've barely craked the stack.
This tape is an edited down tape of apparently three volumes of field recordings of the bright and beautiful city of portland, oregon. The first side is a swiftly paced collage of somewhat standard city sounds, traffic, walking, passerby's conversation, crosswalk, bus engines etc, it's editing is smooth and never gets to minimal or intense. While the second side is a little more 'noisy' with actual instruments clinking around, maybe it's before a show or he walked into a practice space or tripped in the dark over a cymbal?
I feel like i've known a healthy number of people in my life that want to (or do) move to portland because they think it's an oasis of punk and beauty, so this tape is nice to hear foot on pavement, the scanner at the grocery store and the sound of some dude jabbering in the back ground. But still, maybe that proves the point of PDX being a noise heaven, even the street is a noise show! ha!
Black and white cover on vellum, yellow tape. Edition of 38
still available at:
http://www.belowpdx.com/index2.html
BONUS BEAST "#1" c30 (High Density Headache)
A first for me, i got this tape from checking out a myspace page. Usually i refuse, even bands i totally love, i can't stand listening to myspace tracks, the mp3 quality sucks, the pages make me want to vomit and you're so distracted looking at everything else there's no way my mind can give proper attention to the sounds. So, when i did like one of the tracks and wrote to them to find out about a tape, i was convinced i'd get it and hate it, it just seemed like poetic justice that i would get the tape and it'd sound like shit, thankfully it wasn't.
Turns out this is one of the guys (or more) who was in Big Nurse which i guess is now broke up, i saw them play a pretty good set here in western mass at mystery train records. This tape shares sentiments with the now defunct BN but takes a different route.
Definitely a home-recorded affair, awkward mixing choices, overdriven signals, lost moments, zero engineering and tape hiss are all worn proudly on the sleeve, and i think to their benefit. While it does have a feel to it that it's thrown together at parts it still reveals awesome moments of guitar damage and wiggly drums all woven together, though not without the corresponding moments of clean guitar wires woven through clattering drums. It definitely feels like these guys know how to play underneath the mush and smoosh of their blownout recordings, it's nice they leave it as a suggestion and don't focus too much on showmanship.
The second side has a slight detour into sliding, glazed fields of slowed down tapes, loops and a really nice patterned keyboard that repeats until heading back into the guitar/drum duo where more of their skill sets are revealed definitely suggesting some sort of guitar scales and jazz inflections underneath a wall of spaced out jitters and noisy critters.
not sure if it's still available or not, i just wrote and asked. you could do the same! edition of 24, color printout cover in soft plastic case.
http://www.myspace.com/seriouslyhyped
http://www.highdensityheadache.blogspot.com/
Turns out this is one of the guys (or more) who was in Big Nurse which i guess is now broke up, i saw them play a pretty good set here in western mass at mystery train records. This tape shares sentiments with the now defunct BN but takes a different route.
Definitely a home-recorded affair, awkward mixing choices, overdriven signals, lost moments, zero engineering and tape hiss are all worn proudly on the sleeve, and i think to their benefit. While it does have a feel to it that it's thrown together at parts it still reveals awesome moments of guitar damage and wiggly drums all woven together, though not without the corresponding moments of clean guitar wires woven through clattering drums. It definitely feels like these guys know how to play underneath the mush and smoosh of their blownout recordings, it's nice they leave it as a suggestion and don't focus too much on showmanship.
The second side has a slight detour into sliding, glazed fields of slowed down tapes, loops and a really nice patterned keyboard that repeats until heading back into the guitar/drum duo where more of their skill sets are revealed definitely suggesting some sort of guitar scales and jazz inflections underneath a wall of spaced out jitters and noisy critters.
not sure if it's still available or not, i just wrote and asked. you could do the same! edition of 24, color printout cover in soft plastic case.
http://www.myspace.com/seriouslyhyped
http://www.highdensityheadache.blogspot.com/
CHARLIE DRAHEIM "Reject" c20 (Animal Disguise)
Just picked up this tape from the Animal Disguise site and is listed as a second edition bootleg / unauthorized tape. Not for the faint of heart or those who put on tapes called "Reject" to begin their Reiki sessions, unless you want to unlock the wrong energy. This tape sounds like two muzzled dogs fighting in a pile of steel tubes. Despite being restrained their is a sort of carnage to the action taking place, and the tubes isn't supposed to be a metaphor, it really sounds metallic, heavy and with a that slight room-y echo that you'd get if you were to yell down a long metal pipe, sterile but noticeable. A nice balance of what would feel like harsh, difficult noise with a real palpable bottom end to transport their development / undoing. Comes w/ black text on red paper, simple graphics, bootleg style.
edition of 100 but down to the last copies available from the site:
www.animaldisguise.com
edition of 100 but down to the last copies available from the site:
www.animaldisguise.com
HATRED "Pitted Water" c30 (AA Records)
Picked this tape up when Demons came through town a few months back along with a few LPs and they're all awesome. This tape is two live sides with Nate Young (of Demons, Wolf Eyes) being the consistent member. Don't know about yr predisposition towards either of those projects but if you're into either at all, this tape won't disappoint.
Separating this from the (recent work of wolf eyes) this tape gives lots of room to the interacting members, leaving air and breathing room (or tape/pa hiss and audience noise) between the squalls and squawks of the instrumentation. I'd be more specific about what is being played but the liner notes give no indication, and it's actually sort of welcome, allowing my ears to pay attention not to the mechanical side but the aural. Would be safe to say there's some analog synth, tape, and varied electronics, even safer to assume that knowing the other players are Max Eisenberg (of the great DJ Dog Dick, sometimes Nautical Almanac) on one side and Twig Harper and Max on the other side.
The live in W.Baltimore side is a lot more chaotic than the Detroit side; trading punches of cut up and scattered sounds countered by blasts of truly intimidating walls of gurgled up electronics. The battle slows a bit into a more tempered back and forth mutating into a low heavy unfurling, sounding like a mechanical mucus covered tongue unrolling.
The live in Detroit side has a similar feel at the start, with a good bit of shrieks and wails passed back in forth leading into a really really swollen build up carrying all the information exchanged at the beginning of the performance on its back and leveling out into a full room, totally controlled mess.
Black and white line artwork, white tapes.
still available at AA records website:
http://www.wolfeyes.net/aaindex.html
Separating this from the (recent work of wolf eyes) this tape gives lots of room to the interacting members, leaving air and breathing room (or tape/pa hiss and audience noise) between the squalls and squawks of the instrumentation. I'd be more specific about what is being played but the liner notes give no indication, and it's actually sort of welcome, allowing my ears to pay attention not to the mechanical side but the aural. Would be safe to say there's some analog synth, tape, and varied electronics, even safer to assume that knowing the other players are Max Eisenberg (of the great DJ Dog Dick, sometimes Nautical Almanac) on one side and Twig Harper and Max on the other side.
The live in W.Baltimore side is a lot more chaotic than the Detroit side; trading punches of cut up and scattered sounds countered by blasts of truly intimidating walls of gurgled up electronics. The battle slows a bit into a more tempered back and forth mutating into a low heavy unfurling, sounding like a mechanical mucus covered tongue unrolling.
The live in Detroit side has a similar feel at the start, with a good bit of shrieks and wails passed back in forth leading into a really really swollen build up carrying all the information exchanged at the beginning of the performance on its back and leveling out into a full room, totally controlled mess.
Black and white line artwork, white tapes.
still available at AA records website:
http://www.wolfeyes.net/aaindex.html
BUFFLE "Cavernicole" (Relax Produzioni) c10
I don't want to act as if i'm underscoring the quality of the music on this blue cassette, but i'm obligated to start off by saying this Italian label Relax Produzioni has hands down the best logo i've ever ever seen. A circle w/ a pair of bare feet, in the laying down position with a cowboy hat floating just above, barely touching the big toes on both feet. Super simple but sooo striking, and it's italian!? amazing. anyhow. This label evidently has consistency in mind, great simple logo and great simple music.
Buffle can slide from side to side, long layered pieces with lots of padding and thickness, like a smokey room with only one lightbulb and water up to your waist. Other times they're playful and the recordings are pretty transparent; yup, that's a guitar and a keyboard and a delay pedal, etc. It's a nice relationship to have with a band, a signature sound that can be applied to any number of approaches. Well, this tape has not only upped the ante, but has also found a soft spot of mine. Much like the muntjac tape on Taped Sounds (reviewed mid october) this tape has a real bedroom, 4-track vibe to it. Well, to be more precise a kitchen/4-track vibe to it, it sounds like the dudes opened the cabinets, arranged a few "drum kits" and busted out the guitars and let er' rip. both sides are mostly these snakey, clanky busted up simple jams that interweave the percussive pots and pans with the noodley but not wank-off guitars. A slight refrain at the beginning of the second side, almost like a reminder of what else the band does; weird keyboard relapse attack but actually a sort of nice interrupt to allow you to feel the cupboard jams fresh again.
Full color cover, blue cassette, blue/clear case and the aforementioned best logo ever.
RELAX Produzioni released it but
check their myspace to see about picking up copies:
http://www.myspace.com/buffle
Buffle can slide from side to side, long layered pieces with lots of padding and thickness, like a smokey room with only one lightbulb and water up to your waist. Other times they're playful and the recordings are pretty transparent; yup, that's a guitar and a keyboard and a delay pedal, etc. It's a nice relationship to have with a band, a signature sound that can be applied to any number of approaches. Well, this tape has not only upped the ante, but has also found a soft spot of mine. Much like the muntjac tape on Taped Sounds (reviewed mid october) this tape has a real bedroom, 4-track vibe to it. Well, to be more precise a kitchen/4-track vibe to it, it sounds like the dudes opened the cabinets, arranged a few "drum kits" and busted out the guitars and let er' rip. both sides are mostly these snakey, clanky busted up simple jams that interweave the percussive pots and pans with the noodley but not wank-off guitars. A slight refrain at the beginning of the second side, almost like a reminder of what else the band does; weird keyboard relapse attack but actually a sort of nice interrupt to allow you to feel the cupboard jams fresh again.
Full color cover, blue cassette, blue/clear case and the aforementioned best logo ever.
RELAX Produzioni released it but
check their myspace to see about picking up copies:
http://www.myspace.com/buffle
SUDDEN OAK : S/T (Bezoar Formations)
Sudden Oak is a newly san franciscan duo made up of John (guitar) and Matt (saxophone). This polka dotted (what does that design have to do with polka?) c21 with a xerox/printed cover is a perfect soundtrack for your summertime hang sessions. That is if your summertime hang sesh happens to be you gettin total bleek, loner style, tied to the front of a greyhound with a mouthful of earthworms.
First side opens with some mellow but slightly dissonant waves, suggesting an interest in droning on, finding the subtlety in the greater picture. Yet as it creeps forward it slowly becomes heavier; not like an Earth record 'heavy' but heavy like a stomach punch played in slow motion where the skin is rippling in an almost hypnotic fashion or like sticking yr head out the window of a moving car with yr eyes open type of heavy. By the end of the first side there's a really thick air, like you're trying to breathe through some ashtray lifestyle and it's not looking too good for you.
Second side does a little side step but definitely doesn't make the dance any more optimistic. While tonally the instruments are a lot more distinct there's definitely a more blown out feel at the beginning though they retain control enough to cough out some synth-sounding parts, definite guitar mangling and some nose-bleed feedback to carry you through till the very distinct 'click' of the tape ending, like a teacher just whacked the fuggin desk with a ruler to take you out of the unreleased, chopped and screwed soundtrack to the hills have eyes (the orig, obv). hot tape dudes!
www.bezoarformations.com
First side opens with some mellow but slightly dissonant waves, suggesting an interest in droning on, finding the subtlety in the greater picture. Yet as it creeps forward it slowly becomes heavier; not like an Earth record 'heavy' but heavy like a stomach punch played in slow motion where the skin is rippling in an almost hypnotic fashion or like sticking yr head out the window of a moving car with yr eyes open type of heavy. By the end of the first side there's a really thick air, like you're trying to breathe through some ashtray lifestyle and it's not looking too good for you.
Second side does a little side step but definitely doesn't make the dance any more optimistic. While tonally the instruments are a lot more distinct there's definitely a more blown out feel at the beginning though they retain control enough to cough out some synth-sounding parts, definite guitar mangling and some nose-bleed feedback to carry you through till the very distinct 'click' of the tape ending, like a teacher just whacked the fuggin desk with a ruler to take you out of the unreleased, chopped and screwed soundtrack to the hills have eyes (the orig, obv). hot tape dudes!
www.bezoarformations.com
LATERAL HYETOGRAPHY : Some Girlzz cassingle (Really Coastal)
First off i have to get my conflict of interest out in the open, Jon, who is lateral hyetography, and i email each other about the Boston Celtics and Books, i don't think that'll effect my write up, but i just want to put it out there.
This tape is a legit, professionally printed m-f'in cassingle. kudos for that ish; you'll occassionally see a new tape that's professionally printed, but i'll be damned if dudes are still making cassingle/promo tapes. Anyhow this jam (it's just one jam! program repeats!) hits a really really soft spot of mine, old organ drum beats, or something that sounds hot-shit-just-like-it. its a great beat that runs through the whole tune. it has a playful pop feel and structure to it, wispy, sort of high pitched vocals. i don't like using musical comparisons because i don't want to belittle or offend people or give one person ownership of a sound but this does have some ariel pink vibes quivering through the atmosphere, though the production is a lot, lot cleaner.
After a bit of verse chorus verse action, there's a long refrain that builds layers and layers of voice and synth padding, which had me thinking about the effect of the Line 6 era of noise bands and their effects/role in constructing pop format songs, there are a few bands, most notably Black Pus, who are utilizing the technique exceptionally well. while i wouldn't put this tape in that category only because it's a studio recording, it does suggest some interesting approaches to the pop/noise/ambient hybridity that are occurring.
Second Edition of 95. released by Really Coastal
http://reallycoastal.com/
This tape is a legit, professionally printed m-f'in cassingle. kudos for that ish; you'll occassionally see a new tape that's professionally printed, but i'll be damned if dudes are still making cassingle/promo tapes. Anyhow this jam (it's just one jam! program repeats!) hits a really really soft spot of mine, old organ drum beats, or something that sounds hot-shit-just-like-it. its a great beat that runs through the whole tune. it has a playful pop feel and structure to it, wispy, sort of high pitched vocals. i don't like using musical comparisons because i don't want to belittle or offend people or give one person ownership of a sound but this does have some ariel pink vibes quivering through the atmosphere, though the production is a lot, lot cleaner.
After a bit of verse chorus verse action, there's a long refrain that builds layers and layers of voice and synth padding, which had me thinking about the effect of the Line 6 era of noise bands and their effects/role in constructing pop format songs, there are a few bands, most notably Black Pus, who are utilizing the technique exceptionally well. while i wouldn't put this tape in that category only because it's a studio recording, it does suggest some interesting approaches to the pop/noise/ambient hybridity that are occurring.
Second Edition of 95. released by Really Coastal
http://reallycoastal.com/
HUI "Excerpts From the Hui Tape Collections" (Stenze Quo / Meudiademorte)
This tape comes with a simple black and white photocopied insert that lists the title, time and all the instruments used on each side. The only other text is the the title "Hui- shows an excerpt of from the Hui tapes collection played by marcel turkovsky." It really makes you feel like you stumbled onto a demo or rough mixes from a huge library of master tapes. Judging by Marcel's output, i bet there is a friggin wine cellar somewhere full of master tapes, notepads filled with ideas and more instruments like the "polnisch knull" or a "pustrohr" that are just waiting to be manipulated and undone as were on this tape.
I remember watching Fast, Cheap and Out of Control and in the documentary there is a robotic scientist who is studying the way in which ants walk and comparing it to contemporary attempts at making movement mechanical. The ant is a really imperfect creature, stumbling about, falling, not precise at all, yet it is what the scientist believes is the most effective. They allow mistakes, working them into a larger routine, whereas robots of the R2D2 nature are so rigid that if they fall or bump into something they are rendered completely useless. There needs to be room for error, or better yet, error needs to be considered an integral part of the process.
Marcel's compositions have something of a similar ring, both in their process and the end result of the sound. I don't want to get too caught up in process, especially since i've never seen him play solo, but there does seem to be a focus paid on the process here, with irregular loops moving in and out of the foreground acting as both structural tool and as embellishment. While the tapes play both parts, they are also assigned a particular role as organic noises enter the field of sound, tapping, bells, walking, something in the background banging; all causing the initial tape looped sound or rattling to be re-registered as something 'taped' or secondary. It is this back and forth and attention to recontextualizing a sound that makes this tape so good. What is a hypnotic bug sound changes dramatically when a mbira/xylophone sound enters and pushes the skittering loop to the background.
This tape is a great example of using loops, layers, field recordings and primitive folk instruments to create a challening and exciting listen that supercedes the standard Line 6 loop fest. listen up!
Edit! I just went to listen to another Hui tape i have to realize they're the same, in different packaging, evidently this was initially released (still available) by Stenze Quo, another great label.
www.myspace.com/stenzequo
www.Meudiademorte.de
http://www.myspace.com/meudiademorte
I remember watching Fast, Cheap and Out of Control and in the documentary there is a robotic scientist who is studying the way in which ants walk and comparing it to contemporary attempts at making movement mechanical. The ant is a really imperfect creature, stumbling about, falling, not precise at all, yet it is what the scientist believes is the most effective. They allow mistakes, working them into a larger routine, whereas robots of the R2D2 nature are so rigid that if they fall or bump into something they are rendered completely useless. There needs to be room for error, or better yet, error needs to be considered an integral part of the process.
Marcel's compositions have something of a similar ring, both in their process and the end result of the sound. I don't want to get too caught up in process, especially since i've never seen him play solo, but there does seem to be a focus paid on the process here, with irregular loops moving in and out of the foreground acting as both structural tool and as embellishment. While the tapes play both parts, they are also assigned a particular role as organic noises enter the field of sound, tapping, bells, walking, something in the background banging; all causing the initial tape looped sound or rattling to be re-registered as something 'taped' or secondary. It is this back and forth and attention to recontextualizing a sound that makes this tape so good. What is a hypnotic bug sound changes dramatically when a mbira/xylophone sound enters and pushes the skittering loop to the background.
This tape is a great example of using loops, layers, field recordings and primitive folk instruments to create a challening and exciting listen that supercedes the standard Line 6 loop fest. listen up!
Edit! I just went to listen to another Hui tape i have to realize they're the same, in different packaging, evidently this was initially released (still available) by Stenze Quo, another great label.
www.myspace.com/stenzequo
www.Meudiademorte.de
http://www.myspace.com/meudiademorte
TOWERING BREAKERS w/ BEN MORRIS "Like Light" (Rayon Records)
I recently got this jam in a batch of tapes from Pascal who runs Rayon records. All the tapes have a similar packaging style, this weird fold over oragami style case with a photo attached to the side making it twice as wide as normal (and impossible to put with the rest of your tapes, though really, it's necessary to have like two other shelves for storing releases like this, plus they look good.) Tape is yellow, spray painted, edition of 50, along with the photo and insert the sleeve is slathered with green goo. for the record, goo is always a nice touch in my book.
The tape itself lives up to the pacakaging offering the listener lots and twine to wrap around your head, tape to stick on your face and cotton balls to stuff in your mouth. Each side has two pieces each offering different imbalances and distractions matched with concentration and integrated forms. Not sure of any of the other releases by Towering Breaker since this is the first i've heard but the fact that they're joined by Ben Morris ("mad dog ben morris" according to the insert) really effected the way i was listening, trying to hear the way a guest was sitting in; sort of trying to find the piece that has been added to the equation.
These guys deliver a great mix of semi-distinct layers interacting, trying to weave together some distant cries caught on tape, with a slightly overblown signal making a mic bounce off the wall, while trying to meet and mate sounds there is also a comfort in the fact that they are their own; what sounds like water sounds and maybe drums (or a person shaking a chainlink fence) shift in and about creating a really unsteady (in a good way) drone that feels like it could fall apart or totally congeal at any point.
The next section starts a bit more spastic and jumpy, allowing for definition between the pieces, to develop their own identity before carrying off into a wall of co-mingling where totally non-verbal voices reach out and grab at everything, pulling segments into a full on wall paper peeling seance of sound. Grey clouds of gloom follow ushered in by shooting rhythmics sounds of totally unidentifiable nature, driving into the sunset there is true comfort and ease in the handling of the resolution. Gong/bell types of sounds hush and brush against walls of tape hiss and wind, something like the concert of a late night harbor for a ship just in from sea.
http://www.myspace.com/rayonrecs
The tape itself lives up to the pacakaging offering the listener lots and twine to wrap around your head, tape to stick on your face and cotton balls to stuff in your mouth. Each side has two pieces each offering different imbalances and distractions matched with concentration and integrated forms. Not sure of any of the other releases by Towering Breaker since this is the first i've heard but the fact that they're joined by Ben Morris ("mad dog ben morris" according to the insert) really effected the way i was listening, trying to hear the way a guest was sitting in; sort of trying to find the piece that has been added to the equation.
These guys deliver a great mix of semi-distinct layers interacting, trying to weave together some distant cries caught on tape, with a slightly overblown signal making a mic bounce off the wall, while trying to meet and mate sounds there is also a comfort in the fact that they are their own; what sounds like water sounds and maybe drums (or a person shaking a chainlink fence) shift in and about creating a really unsteady (in a good way) drone that feels like it could fall apart or totally congeal at any point.
The next section starts a bit more spastic and jumpy, allowing for definition between the pieces, to develop their own identity before carrying off into a wall of co-mingling where totally non-verbal voices reach out and grab at everything, pulling segments into a full on wall paper peeling seance of sound. Grey clouds of gloom follow ushered in by shooting rhythmics sounds of totally unidentifiable nature, driving into the sunset there is true comfort and ease in the handling of the resolution. Gong/bell types of sounds hush and brush against walls of tape hiss and wind, something like the concert of a late night harbor for a ship just in from sea.
http://www.myspace.com/rayonrecs
TROPA MACACA "Peca Ma" (Silver Ghosts)
This tape comes from a live performance (one set split over both sides) from "OUT.FEST" in 2007. Tropa Macaca is a duo, i believe, from portugal. If it weren't in the liner notes i wouldn't have guessed that this were a live release considering the weight and length of some moments. But i think that is my prejudice coming through, where live sets are often marked by an anxiety that translates into quicker transitions and shorter parts. Then again, i'm not from the school of mellow dudes on the floor...
That said this tape is not without its share of fractured moments and there's no hesitation over the introduction of new directions or textures but there is a definite focus on the development of their drone elements. A deep bass ocean is introduced, an ocean of lotion, thick and simmering with heavy heat beaming down carrying on through sputtering loops of percussive wind warmth. Elements of synths (maybe not actual synths though?) mix easily with more airy whispy creating a nice balanced palette, though not without the necessary tension to keep a recording (performance) interesting and with a sense of movement.
Sounds of unplugging and plugging in scatter across the surface; a nice metaphor for the music, the sounds of instruments and action creating a world in tune with and plugged into the fabric of being undone and unattached, floating across the surfaces, looking down, under the rippling, fractured bubblings.
Comes in plastic case with silkscreened cover.
no website yet, you can email silverghosts@gmail.com for copies
That said this tape is not without its share of fractured moments and there's no hesitation over the introduction of new directions or textures but there is a definite focus on the development of their drone elements. A deep bass ocean is introduced, an ocean of lotion, thick and simmering with heavy heat beaming down carrying on through sputtering loops of percussive wind warmth. Elements of synths (maybe not actual synths though?) mix easily with more airy whispy creating a nice balanced palette, though not without the necessary tension to keep a recording (performance) interesting and with a sense of movement.
Sounds of unplugging and plugging in scatter across the surface; a nice metaphor for the music, the sounds of instruments and action creating a world in tune with and plugged into the fabric of being undone and unattached, floating across the surfaces, looking down, under the rippling, fractured bubblings.
Comes in plastic case with silkscreened cover.
no website yet, you can email silverghosts@gmail.com for copies
WEIRDING MODULE "Underwater in Space" (Silver Ghosts)
Weirding Module is the solo synth project of mike, the bass player awesome color. If you're familiar with their rip roaring rock and roll records, this tape may come as a bit of a surprise. If you're only familiar with mike as one half of the duo Bisexual Ghengis Khan (with colin from usaisamonster) than this will seem like familiar territory for this soldier of rock to walk.
It feels almost like the release was named after him trying to describe the sound of the tape to an aunt or an uncle who hadn't smoked pot. Underwater in space, though not possible (is it?) is a pretty literal description of the noodles, franks and beans that make up this primordial stew. A really great tape that starts with lots of decaying sounds, tones being ripped apart and bounced about in semi-rhythms, half in time half out creating a reallly disorienting set of blerps and beeps to follow. The second piece is a lot more minimal and almost devious in its pause. Comes across like a true vouyer staring into a mirror.
The second side starts, appropriately, wave-like with pulses cascading in and out and crashing against anything in their way. I remember a koan about the strenght of something soft, like water, breaking something hard, like stone. Soft is harder than hard. These pieces in all their mechanical circuitry have something soft in them, an ability to rise and descend to express and manipulate while still being rather cold and rigid, almost surgical in their execution.
A great tape, well played and pretty diverse in the approach and the movement of the music. Not particularly bleak or dark but not really uplifting and storybook. Maybe that's what space is like, or underwater. Environments that are almost totally inhospitable to humans, yet, with the proper equipment somehow people end up there staring at themselves and whatever goo and dust is floating by.
Silkscreened covers by M. Padding, in a plastic tape case perfect for filing.
No website available, you can email silverghosts@gmail.com for copies
It feels almost like the release was named after him trying to describe the sound of the tape to an aunt or an uncle who hadn't smoked pot. Underwater in space, though not possible (is it?) is a pretty literal description of the noodles, franks and beans that make up this primordial stew. A really great tape that starts with lots of decaying sounds, tones being ripped apart and bounced about in semi-rhythms, half in time half out creating a reallly disorienting set of blerps and beeps to follow. The second piece is a lot more minimal and almost devious in its pause. Comes across like a true vouyer staring into a mirror.
The second side starts, appropriately, wave-like with pulses cascading in and out and crashing against anything in their way. I remember a koan about the strenght of something soft, like water, breaking something hard, like stone. Soft is harder than hard. These pieces in all their mechanical circuitry have something soft in them, an ability to rise and descend to express and manipulate while still being rather cold and rigid, almost surgical in their execution.
A great tape, well played and pretty diverse in the approach and the movement of the music. Not particularly bleak or dark but not really uplifting and storybook. Maybe that's what space is like, or underwater. Environments that are almost totally inhospitable to humans, yet, with the proper equipment somehow people end up there staring at themselves and whatever goo and dust is floating by.
Silkscreened covers by M. Padding, in a plastic tape case perfect for filing.
No website available, you can email silverghosts@gmail.com for copies
MUNTJAC "Warp" (Taped Sounds)
A new mini-planet has evolved and it's soundtrack is straight from the "home taping" scene of yesteryear. this release is an unbelievable little nugget of quirky, chirpy, simple, songs and that in and of itself makes it quite an amazing feat! This tape would fit right in along side anything that came out of the Shrimper-Era home recording blitz that brought us a million and one amazing tapes (and personally was a big inspiration). One of the unfortunate features of a lot of those tapes was usually some dude whining about something 'personal' in a voice that maybe should have remained at home and not recorded. still, a lot of the music was exceptional and was catapulted even further into the stratosphere of "sweeeeet" by the super ultra lo-fidelity of the recordings. This Muntjac recording is right on time. It sounds like instead of multi-tracking he did the old boombox next to a boombox so all the tracks have a 'live' feel to them. A lot of the standard weapons are used, shitty keyboard beats, shitty keyboards, guitars, overdriven bass and some tape manipulation. Many of the tracks are self contained ideas but a few move in and out of the structured and into 'fields' of sound yet never lose sight of the intentions of the track. Major kudos for that. Again, so thankful for the lack of voice; there's no way words (and the human voice) could say something more interesting than the music. Then again, you never know. Comes packaged in a mini ziplock bag with a black and white insert with some drawings of a planet and some animals on it along with a color mini zine featuring weird marker drawings and basic release info.
http://users.telenet.be/bread.and.animals/
http://users.telenet.be/bread.and.animals/
JASON CRUMER "Ruth" (Nazot)
(Let's just pretend we all took August off on purpose, okay?)
Jason Crumer has been getting some hype these days, based on the noise community's positive reaction to his latest full-length CD, "Ottoman Black," on Hospital Productions. His previous album, "Future With No Chance" on RRR was on my year end list in 2007. Any attention this guys gets is a good sign for the scene. It means that no matter what trends are dominating in the underground community, no matter which way the harsh noise wind is a-blowin', enough people still care about quality over hipness. Crumer's ultra precise cut-up style does not really fit into the current cultural moment, dominated by hippy drone converts, and a few lingering wall noise devotees. While most of the harsh noise artists right now are looking backward at the mid 1990's American scene, Crumer has taken up the direction abandoned by people like Viodre and Pedestrian Deposit, and kept moving forward. "Ruth" is Crumer's forgotten 2004-2005 masterpiece of junk metal/pedal noise. Intended for a CD release more than three years ago, these recordings got put on the back burner by the label. After a while, it got passed on to a second label where it also sat, unreleased, for some time. Crumer, in apparent desperation, finally released the album himself on cassette a few months ago. Unfortunately, the cassette medium does not do this incredible recording justice. "Ruth" was professionally mastered and in its digital incarnation sounds impeccable. This cassette dub, however, sounds blurry and distant. I've heard rumors of a CD reissue in the works, but this album might just be one of those projects, inexplicably doomed by misfortune. (I probably shouldn't lament the sound quality of this release on site devoted to the cassette medium, but this really is a terrible injustice.)
Jason Crumer has been getting some hype these days, based on the noise community's positive reaction to his latest full-length CD, "Ottoman Black," on Hospital Productions. His previous album, "Future With No Chance" on RRR was on my year end list in 2007. Any attention this guys gets is a good sign for the scene. It means that no matter what trends are dominating in the underground community, no matter which way the harsh noise wind is a-blowin', enough people still care about quality over hipness. Crumer's ultra precise cut-up style does not really fit into the current cultural moment, dominated by hippy drone converts, and a few lingering wall noise devotees. While most of the harsh noise artists right now are looking backward at the mid 1990's American scene, Crumer has taken up the direction abandoned by people like Viodre and Pedestrian Deposit, and kept moving forward. "Ruth" is Crumer's forgotten 2004-2005 masterpiece of junk metal/pedal noise. Intended for a CD release more than three years ago, these recordings got put on the back burner by the label. After a while, it got passed on to a second label where it also sat, unreleased, for some time. Crumer, in apparent desperation, finally released the album himself on cassette a few months ago. Unfortunately, the cassette medium does not do this incredible recording justice. "Ruth" was professionally mastered and in its digital incarnation sounds impeccable. This cassette dub, however, sounds blurry and distant. I've heard rumors of a CD reissue in the works, but this album might just be one of those projects, inexplicably doomed by misfortune. (I probably shouldn't lament the sound quality of this release on site devoted to the cassette medium, but this really is a terrible injustice.)
DJ THUMPER! / VANKMEN (Hate State)
So these are two people I've played and toured with a lot in Realicide, but you know there aren't that many tapes I like listening to so I'm gonna write about this one. It's a split c39 tape recorded live from Ravesploitation Fest, November 2007 at The Smell in LA, by Jonathan Snipes (so you know it's alright). It was Thumper's first actual live show, and still the best to date (he doesn't play live very often), featuring gabber and breakcore mixes of the Mortal Kombat theme, Andrew WK, Bush (the band actually) pitted against dialogue from the infamous Virina Tech shooter of 2006, Slipknot and a bunch of other nu metal bands I'm not going to bother trying to name. Basically DJ THUMPER! (aka Mavis Concave, btw) is really fun and well-produced gabber and breakcore fueled by pop culture samples, adding the somewhat subtle mechanics of a rather dark commentary on the entertainment world and how we relate to it as a society. VANKMEN, of Oakland, upholds the title of "best speedcore gabber in North America"... yeah I stand by that statement, and haven't run into much to challenge it so far. Vankmen is fucking brutally hardcore and equally fun, satirizing spaced out kandy ravers to a backdrop of ectoplasm-spattered ghost-busting, in his live set combining hardware drum machines and bent noise gear with segments of Ableton software tracks! This was an incredible festival and this tape documents quite accurately two of the acts that contributed, representing US gabber when so few ever do! Man, breakcore is alright, aside from the gimmicky fart-joke trends, but man, GABBER is what will always keep me going when the going gets rough, and you know it frequently does! Lastly, as this is a Hate State release, it's packaging is hand-knitted, plus the sleeve with Thumper's "lyrics" and Vankmen's shout-outs. When was the last time you came across hardcore techno and hand-knitted tape cases in the same object?! Fucking hell, what a weird thing to exist... DJ THUMPER! www.myspace.com/thumpallnight VANKMEN www.vankmen.com HATE STATE (check out other releases too!) www.hatestate.info ~ Robert Inhuman 09/23/08
RIVAL FACTIONS "Our Voice" (Flish Records)
Leo gave me this when we were in Richmond last month. Among all the comedic burn-out psycho-dayglo paper-rad-clad noise of their Church Of Crystal Light scene, I never expected to get a really solid HARDCORE tape, among a serious bounty of work Flish has released the past year (most is much more alligned with noise / experimental / just plain WEIRD). Rival Factions' tape is on one hand painfully stereotypical: images of bullet belts, riot gear cops, ugg.... gasmasks, AK rifles, and old english fonts combined with stenciled fonts. The music is just as predictable as the imagery, and the lyrics are the expected vague pseudo-revolutionary teen angst grab bag. But fuck it man, I really like this music! I prefer to listen to bands like Drop Dead or fucking Crass (duh), as more popular examples that is, for an affirmation of the attitude I want to live with and stand behind, because they are slightly more articulate and focused in their purpose, but AT LEAST bands like Rival Factions carry the same youthful spirit and fun aggression without malice (I'd hope in many cases at least) that brought me to punk and hardcore initially in my teens... They might not be challenging me as an artist or as a radical, but maybe they are at least challenging me to not forget the naive yet seed-planting attitude that set my life on the course its on. I am not in a band that sounds, or is, much like Rival Factions, but that kind of band was the starting point for me as a person who'd want to be in bands at all. In there defense, at the risk of being blatantly combative, AT LEAST a hxc band like this attempts to speak out against violence and injustice, in their own way with their own simple perspective on these subjects. I prefer it greatly over the growing popularity of bands that base their material on flirting with sexism, homopobia, fascism, etc. You can call me a "PC faggot" all you want, but I know the truth of these joking campaigns: Historically they weaken our immunity to ideas of hatred and fascism, before you know it the ideas have gone from JOKE to REALITY. So be fucking careful with your satire; make sure it reads accurately AS satire; or there's a price we all pay. And lastly, again in defense of more generic hxc bands like Rival Factions, AT LEAST it does not bore me to tears. People cling to the notion that noise music is inherently challenging and "experimental", when in fucking reality it has become just as pigeon-holed and predictable as classic hxc punk and other cookie-cutter sorts of music. And comparing a generic hxc band next to an equally generic noise band, at least hardcore still gets my blood pumping, so on a primal level it has that in its favor and that's kinda why I'm writing this. I'm not gonna live or think exactly how this tape implies I ought to, but I am gonna feel a little uplifted when I hear it. So thanks, Leo!!! And of course in the true sense of anarchy and alternative choices, their myspace link, www.myspace.com/rivalfactions ~ Robert Inhuman 09/20/08
DIANOGA "Uprising" (Phonophobia)
This is a pretty sick grindcore tape I got up in Minneapolis. There seem to be some really awesome bands like this up there right now; we played with another called Sloven that ruled too. This stuff isn't exactly progressive in any particular way, but at least it's keeping grindcore and thrash really fun, high energy, nothing too technical or self-righteous. Our Minneapolis show was in a filthy basement called the Cockpit, and this tape is a great souvenir of that experience. Dirty water dripping outta the ceiling; low ceiling and big support beams in the way so you can't even see who's singing or drumming half the time; lights out and horribly overblown yet coherent ENOUGH. The lyrics are... brief. If you like grindcore like that this is a tape / band to check out. Oh yeah, the sleeve is a xerox of some sick deep-sea-monster artwork, which actually reminded me of another band up in MPLS, the late Ganglion who seemed to have a theme of dark sea horror or something... Anyway, www.myspace.com/dianoga420 ~ Robert Inhuman 09/20/08
HEGEMONICIDE / VICTORY! "Home Is Raped" (self-released)
This tape is utterly unlistenable. But in the spirit of noisecore, in its eternal mission to smash all music into obilivion, I guess this makes sense. We played with Victory! at 2 of our Michigan shows this past summer, in Lansing and in their home Grand Rapids at a great non-profit venue called the DAAC (look it up!). Victory! is a really promising duo of Sam Snedeker and Brandon Hill, who've formerly worked together in various incarnations of noise and free-jazz-inspired improv. But yeah mane now they play completely off the hook noisecore, in all its classic confusion and obscurity. This tape is terribly unlistenable, but I really enjoyed their shows and would definitely listen to something recorded in a slightly different way; any way that allows me to hear what is going on musically even in the absence of "music", haha... Hegemonicide is Brandon solo playing great hardcore with his guitar and a drum machine. I couldn't hear this on the tape either, but you know maybe my tape is just fucked up cos Sam dubbed it for me late the night of the DAAC show and maybe something happened...?! Anyway, we saw Hegemonicide that night as well and it was really great. I'd definitely want to hear some decent recordings of those songs. There were samples playing between songs too; really great stuff that goes beyond the stereotype of "animal rights" into a more mature attitude that it is LIFE overall we need to keep sacred and in respect with all our thoughts and actions... very challenging ideas being offered by a couple of guys just outta high school. Leading me to the ZINE that comes with their tape! I know I've said that the tape is really rugged in sound quality, but this book of images and LYRICS quickly sparks an interest to learn, moreso than what the fuck is up with these bands, who are these people, I'd like to talk to them about these subjects and hear an elaboration on their perspective. I was blown away to see a range of topics such as dietary disciplines, things that seem to reference green anarchism, feminism, spirituality, speciesism, "...Then fuck punk and fuck you. You are no different than the things you claim to hate." I dunno, it was an array of topics and ideas that really made me want to get to know these guys better... and a little wanting to hear a better recording or at least find out if my copy of the tape was messed up! The end of one side is filled with something like reference materials(?!) - found / used (on the tape, however you wanna say it) interviews with Utah Phillips, Cornel West, and Mumia Abu-Jamal. Go to Grand Rapids and meet these kids, or here's their contact... Sam, snedekersam@gmail.com and Brandon, grbah@comcast.net ~ Robert Inhuman 09/20/08
BLUE SHIFT (Puik)
Another mysterious Belgian release from the vaults of jelle crama, presumably on his prolific but secret, often unlabeled, multilingual, impossible to decipher lettering label Puik. Jelle has made a name for himself in a million ways and one of them is by putting out mysterious tapes of people from all over, making you question if the artists are real and if the tapes are even legit. The one i hold is totally unmarked on the J-Card, just his trademark gloops of globs for artwork, and scrawled on the cassette "Blueshift." For those unacquainted, Blueshift is the solo work of Providence's Cybele Collins primarily channeled through a solo violin. This tape is one sided and travels nicely; it's one of the many graces of the cassette format that it undermines the concept of 'tracks' and allows the whole side to flow together with each track working off each other, departing or complimenting and this release takes advantage of that property.
Harsh staccato stabs that sound as if a drum solo and a guitar solo somehow shared a windpipe, breathing the same ferocity. This almost sped up sounding warp mutates into what feels like a final stand, the last round of the battle, all the teeth have fallen out and it's an impact match. A drummer is added to the mix making the music more physical and accenting the already percussive nature of the playing. Moving from the harsh, though clean moments the atmosphere becomes more open, obscured by space, with slight plucks and clucks of strings and an exhausted breathing, almost animal sounding, taking over the horizon. Though not suggestive of resolution there is a quiet, meditative quality to the remainder of the tape with a real focus on detail though tripping and stuttering as if there is just too much to enjoy, too many places to look.
A really great tape that has a real esoteric feel both in its musical efforts and the presentation and though remaining obscure and barely terrestrial it has a real tangible beauty.
http://www.jellecrama.com/puik/
Harsh staccato stabs that sound as if a drum solo and a guitar solo somehow shared a windpipe, breathing the same ferocity. This almost sped up sounding warp mutates into what feels like a final stand, the last round of the battle, all the teeth have fallen out and it's an impact match. A drummer is added to the mix making the music more physical and accenting the already percussive nature of the playing. Moving from the harsh, though clean moments the atmosphere becomes more open, obscured by space, with slight plucks and clucks of strings and an exhausted breathing, almost animal sounding, taking over the horizon. Though not suggestive of resolution there is a quiet, meditative quality to the remainder of the tape with a real focus on detail though tripping and stuttering as if there is just too much to enjoy, too many places to look.
A really great tape that has a real esoteric feel both in its musical efforts and the presentation and though remaining obscure and barely terrestrial it has a real tangible beauty.
http://www.jellecrama.com/puik/
RALE "Nightside / Shadeup" (Peasant Magik)
The recent minor buzz surrounding Rale in the DIY noise community isn't necessarily surprising when aesthetics are considered. With everything from Emeralds to Emaciator to Infinite Body catching people's ears, Rales arguable relationship to new age noise definitely makes him a candidate for popularity. Those familiar with the ongoing work of William Hutson would most likely see more to it than this (and none of the bands just mentioned really do either, but bear with), and rightfully so. While Hutson has actually proclaimed the virtues of new age music for much longer than it has been cool to, his current act Rale is hardly a part of the whole hippy-noise repeats social history and evolves into yuppie-noise phenomenon. In fact, Rale has nothing to do with new age music. So is the topic irrelevant? Not in terms of what appears to be going on outside the creative exercise. And while most may not even use the term new-age to describe the phenomenon (it does invoke a lot of inaccuracies), it is true that someone, somewhere, complimented Rale recently, calling his work, essentially, a triumph of focus. It is here that things get interesting. Focus, most likely, is being used to describe how things move slowly, are well crafted, expertly arranged, and delicately textured in Rale's work. This may not be exactly what focus is though, since focus could allow an artist to freak out to perfect just as well. Even patience seems like the wrong word. For many, making "slow" music has nothing to do with patience. Although, since Hutson is hardly the stoner, patience is definitely a factor. Yet, when taken in context of what is inspiring the DIY noise community lately, the word 'focus' is perfect. Actions and reactions, it seems the perfect pendulum swing away from the Mosh/Thrash noise of a few years ago. And who better to be a king in this newly formed kingdom than a perfectionist like Rale. The lessons people seek for themselves can definitely be learned in Rale's graceful and sonicly daring work. But, if this review may have a point, it is that Rale's quality and impact will last long after any current fads are over.
K.I "Vol. 12 Lux Irritum" (Stars 38)
Picked this tape up @ Armageddon Records in Providence about a month ago while in town for a show. This release, volume 12, in the Kites march towards the hereafter is a definite challenge. While many of the volumes up to this point have been 'non-musical' in that the sounds are harsh, muddled, or cradled in feedback and synth decay, it's this volume that definitely takes the cake for removing itself from a context. When this tape starts there is little audible evidence anything is happening, maybe it's blank, but you can definitely hear trace evidence of resonance, but still the tape sounds out of place. Not in the sense it doesn't fit, like a donut in a salad, but in that it has no body, is without grounding, the revelations at each step are non-descript; you can't assign it or designate its component parts, there's no labeling the anatomy. It's like a tape recording an empty house, the occasional whispers of tape hiss bouncing off the walls. As the tape moves forward the listener feels less blindfolded, assorted bursts and burps erupt from the periphery drawing your attention to the harsh bursts at center, like a roman candle being shot over your shoulder, illuminating an otherwise completely dark room with a candy aisle explosion into a wall.
Side two is a similar in the attention to the desolate, hills have eyes type of landscape, but there is a lot more to contend with, a constant interference accents the lazy, dry heaving manner of the slow and empty panorama, while the first side feels more like you're tied to a chair this has a much more distinct slow-chased, dry-mouthed feel to it ending with a rapturous handling of the harsh. Listens like an unreadable plaque on a statue and exudes the mystique of a foreign tape that you only have the art for, some unknown person, from a place you can't identify, playing music you'll never hear.
Great Full color art suggests an eastern European model search gone awry with fold out inserts of other worlds, other machines and unintelligible road maps. In terms of mythology, the kites releases are a saga worth following.
Side two is a similar in the attention to the desolate, hills have eyes type of landscape, but there is a lot more to contend with, a constant interference accents the lazy, dry heaving manner of the slow and empty panorama, while the first side feels more like you're tied to a chair this has a much more distinct slow-chased, dry-mouthed feel to it ending with a rapturous handling of the harsh. Listens like an unreadable plaque on a statue and exudes the mystique of a foreign tape that you only have the art for, some unknown person, from a place you can't identify, playing music you'll never hear.
Great Full color art suggests an eastern European model search gone awry with fold out inserts of other worlds, other machines and unintelligible road maps. In terms of mythology, the kites releases are a saga worth following.
KINIT HER "As Magi" (Living Tapes)
Grown men imitating cats probably sounds like a terrible idea for a powerful rock band. Well, Kinit Her are here to defy the odds. Falsetto has a beautifully place in rock history. Just ask Elton John. Now here is the post-Joanna Newsom version. Although that reference will lead you completely astray, as this music is filled with precise and driving guitar leads, triumphant war-melodies, and a new age afterglow that is all sci-fi and no fantasy. Rarely does something so well formed breathe its first life on cassette. 'As Magi' is one of those albums you can recommend to everybody. Gentle in the right places, diabolical beneath it all, and so well crafted an executed that neither passion nor form is ever sacrificed. If the live show is even half as good as this, then this is the 8,000,000th coming of Christ. Get this.
RE S DUAL MANG "Book 1: An Obliterit No No" (Mangdisc)
I got this tape recently from Skot (aka Id M Theftable) when i was raiding his tape merch, didn't get any info from him, but from the liner notes of this tape we learn that this cassette is a collection of radio show (named Re S Dual Mang) excerpts from 2000-2005 aired on Portland, ME's WMPG. Evidently the show has been airing since 1997 but those first 3 years didn't make the cut for this release. Comes hand packaged and spraypainted, totally anonymous except for the insert, this tape looks kind of like a tape you'd find on the street. In a way it sounds like that. Well, depending on which street you lived.
The tape runs really seamlessly but is a massive collage of totally damaged mind scans from the Maine airwaves. It has a really playful nature that i appreciate, akin to the early Black Bean Placenta one sided 12"s that i heard years and years ago (which actually often featured Crank Sturgeon who is from Maine and has releases on the Mangdisc label). It's not afraid of overwhelming you with a wall of sound so long as a wall of sound include two guys battling it out with a nonsense rhythmic double monologue or a guy mimicking a talking toy, maybe a couple of real, unprank phone calls, one of a girl from the Midwest calling in her personal ad (she's just living in Maine for now, she's moving back, in case anyone out there is listening???). The cacophony continues with tons of clinking, toys, keyboard battles and marching songs fill out the absolute tornado torpedo that is this tape.
I remember being a kid and listening to all the Boston area college stations, WERS, WZBC, WMBR and feeling so excited by the world of unknown sound being revealed to me, Reggae, Punk, Hip Hop, College Rock, looking back i always thought i was so lucky to have that amount of exposure, I'm just glad my wide-eyed 10 year old self never made it up to Maine, (even though it wasn't on the air at the time) because i think i would have been forever disappointed by the offerings of Boston radio thereafter.
kraag.org
The tape runs really seamlessly but is a massive collage of totally damaged mind scans from the Maine airwaves. It has a really playful nature that i appreciate, akin to the early Black Bean Placenta one sided 12"s that i heard years and years ago (which actually often featured Crank Sturgeon who is from Maine and has releases on the Mangdisc label). It's not afraid of overwhelming you with a wall of sound so long as a wall of sound include two guys battling it out with a nonsense rhythmic double monologue or a guy mimicking a talking toy, maybe a couple of real, unprank phone calls, one of a girl from the Midwest calling in her personal ad (she's just living in Maine for now, she's moving back, in case anyone out there is listening???). The cacophony continues with tons of clinking, toys, keyboard battles and marching songs fill out the absolute tornado torpedo that is this tape.
I remember being a kid and listening to all the Boston area college stations, WERS, WZBC, WMBR and feeling so excited by the world of unknown sound being revealed to me, Reggae, Punk, Hip Hop, College Rock, looking back i always thought i was so lucky to have that amount of exposure, I'm just glad my wide-eyed 10 year old self never made it up to Maine, (even though it wasn't on the air at the time) because i think i would have been forever disappointed by the offerings of Boston radio thereafter.
kraag.org
COW / HUMAN ADULT BAND split tape (Phase! Records)
This short split tape between COW (Change Of Women) and Human Adult Band is a really great match up of approaches. I had seen Human Adult Band a long time ago (5 years) and was totally perplexed by them and immediately fell in love. I've kept up with some releases on DIHD and Bonetoothhorn and through a few of their lineup changes; they now incorporate King Darves on drums, Trevor Pennsylvania on Bass and Mike on guitar. I hadn't gathered much from them recently so when i saw this split i was real excited to hear what they've been up. The tape (probably 8 minutes a side) starts with really clean guitar, an almost out of tune bass and the drums mixed to the back of the sounds. A bit of a departure from the new brunswick basement sounds i remember from these guys- formerly sounding like they were covered in new jersey's finest grime and grit, this has a lot more an of an airy feel. But it's not a departure, they haven't gone nu metal, formed a jam band or started introducing dance routines. What was at the core of this group is still there, and we're all the better for it. They're exploring the fundamentals of music, they're operating in a 'band format' with drums, guitar, bass and vocals, there are semi-distinct parts and they stay in time with each other. For the most part. And there in lies the beauty. The bass sometimes misses notes, the vocals sound like the singer was catapulted over the rehearsal space, the mix is a little off sometimes (like during the guitar solo the guitar gets quieter- beautiful!!!) But in the end the guitar cleanly strums away the detritus like a broom does a broken lamp and instead of cleaning up after the house party, they tear down the shades, throw out the couch, scoop up the puke and sleep it off to start all over again, maybe next time covered in algae and earthworms.
Side Two is COW and they have a decidedly different atmosphere, it's not the glue huffing euphoria of Human Adult Band so much as blown out tire on a rumble strip. I don't know much about these guys and don't know if it's my journalistic duty to Google them before i write about them but i didn't want to color my review of them with internet rumor. Anyhow, they definitely share a love of questionable mixing choices (a good thing in my book!) leaving the vocals on some track almost inaudible where on others it's all you can hear. Definite nods to the classic groups of thrash/grindcore like Napalm Death and Carcass, especially in the vocals, while leaving enough room for their own sound to shine. While approaching blast beat speeds COW never loses their musicality, always staying within the parameters set up for the song, a welcome approach to a situation where it's so easy (and can sound so good) to just totally lose it and battle it out with your bandmates. There are some choice moments of heavy tempo changes from thrash beats slowly trudging down the steps into a total tar pit of unconsciousness, like you're being slowly clubbed into the darkness by each and every beat. Another favorite, and something i wish there was a little more of was the double vocals, the sounds of two guys losing molars screaming into a shitty mic is the best. There are 7 songs in this short outing all with a different enough flavor to keep you happily chewing the fat and when it's over, wanting more, even if it's giving you heart failure and you're losing vision in one eye.
Full color cover artwork doesn't really match up with the way either side made me feel, but not a bad looking tape.
www.phaseweb.tk
Side Two is COW and they have a decidedly different atmosphere, it's not the glue huffing euphoria of Human Adult Band so much as blown out tire on a rumble strip. I don't know much about these guys and don't know if it's my journalistic duty to Google them before i write about them but i didn't want to color my review of them with internet rumor. Anyhow, they definitely share a love of questionable mixing choices (a good thing in my book!) leaving the vocals on some track almost inaudible where on others it's all you can hear. Definite nods to the classic groups of thrash/grindcore like Napalm Death and Carcass, especially in the vocals, while leaving enough room for their own sound to shine. While approaching blast beat speeds COW never loses their musicality, always staying within the parameters set up for the song, a welcome approach to a situation where it's so easy (and can sound so good) to just totally lose it and battle it out with your bandmates. There are some choice moments of heavy tempo changes from thrash beats slowly trudging down the steps into a total tar pit of unconsciousness, like you're being slowly clubbed into the darkness by each and every beat. Another favorite, and something i wish there was a little more of was the double vocals, the sounds of two guys losing molars screaming into a shitty mic is the best. There are 7 songs in this short outing all with a different enough flavor to keep you happily chewing the fat and when it's over, wanting more, even if it's giving you heart failure and you're losing vision in one eye.
Full color cover artwork doesn't really match up with the way either side made me feel, but not a bad looking tape.
www.phaseweb.tk
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