Two very opposite sides of the noise spectrum presented here,
in an ultra limited edition of 10 on recycled cassettes (my copy is recorded
over a Sammy Davis jr record), from Brisbane Australia label Minimal Impact
Noise. Strangler Fig play vacant eyed, mouth drooling noise using glacially
paced pulsations of static wash and subtle chiming instrumentation, while
Industrial Hydrophobia flip the switch and kick out an intense thrash jazz jam
with piano, sax, and huge distorted blurts of noise. About ten minutes of music
here all told, and rather than each claiming one side for themselves the whole
thing plays out on one side. It’s an effective and palatable take on the idea
of a split release, nicely pairing disparate approaches to the world of harsh
sounds. There’s something very rewarding about following up a slow burner song
with a high intensity, energy filled track, it’s the album equivalent of
waiting for the mosh riff in a hardcore song.
If someone were to grab you by the throat and demand to know
what’s up with noise, you could put on this release and it’d just about portray
the breadth of variance in the genre in brief without overstaying its welcome.
Between the two, I prefer the mind melting grind of Industrial Hydrophobia,
who, further research details, have one other release of sick, disgusting
quality, which seems only available on Youtube format that hits on a more
zonked sound than the fury of the take on this tape. Worth looking at. This
split’s (obviously) sold out from the label, but the curious can listen here. http://minimalimpact.bigcartel.com/product/min02-strangler-fig-industrial-hydrophobia-split
-- Tim Johnson
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