MOIN - 12" EP (Blackest Ever Black)

Blackest Ever Black drops a brilliant debut EP from Tom Halstead and Joe Andrews aka Raime's rowdier alter ego, Moin. If you caught their side of BEB's Confessions split series with Pete Swanson, then you've probably been anxiously awaiting this to arrive. It absolutely delivered, too. A bit more brash and less direct than this duo's previous output, this EP holds a much sharper blade to their usual medium of live drums, guitar, bass, and various scrap metal. Angular guitar riffs shriek and howl, with cyclic drums and bass passages that stagger in and out of any particular time signature. There's bursts of strategic feedback that are so pointed, you can almost feel it jabbing at you. The entire record has an overwhelming nervousness throughout, mainly in the vocals, with fits of harsh noise and post-punk shrapnel, and you never really know which they'll drop on your head next. Moin have offered up a dark and curiously melodic album, with all the haunting momentum and environmental abuse you'd expect, but this project nods more towards early outsider rock and hardcore, maybe even no wave, than Raime's dub, dread and electronic vibe. Highly recommended. Get a copy from B.E.B.

PRURIENT - "Through The Window" cs (Blackest Ever Black)

 

  The always fantastic Blackest Ever Black label has been killing it in 2013, and now they've given us their second cassette release, the latest full length from Dominick Fernow's long running Prurient project. Fans of earlier Hospital Productions (which Fernow owns and operates) releases may be hesitant with this one, as it only dives further into SM techno and panoramic synthesizer pieces. Straying from the harshness of feedback, noise, and other machine manipulations, Through The Window is a truly full bodied piece of industrial music, instrumental, and worthy of both the clubs and chemical wastelands, quite possibly inspired by his move to Los Angeles.

 

  The three tracks that make up this monstrous album are unlike anything you've heard from him, outside of the Vatican Shadow moniker anyway. These songs are wide open, lengthy landscapes, filled with rich analog strides and sinister vibes from front to back. Layers of carefully crafted arpeggios and sequencers weave throughout the songs, and rarely, if ever make it in the red. He seems to be focusing on a more droning, melodic drift backed by a steady thump, than the scathing environments you may love him for. That's not to say this record doesn't have it's share of menacing moments, it's got a deeply masochistic tone that reigns supreme, one that's hard to place, more of a vibe that comes a bit later. A bit of a turn for Prurient, and once you've looked past that, and you will, it's terribly good album from this major player.

 

Get it on LP/CD from Blackest Ever Black.