awenydd - nwyfre (Fusty Cunt)
One of those pleasant surprise cassettes I grabbed when it first came out, but had not listened to probably since. Today's revisit still contains the same massive energy that this tape had the first time I heard it. Synths dip into an extreme mix of PE and psychedelia. A couple of moments of beep boop occur but that is the risk you take when you are tracking totally live. In the capacity that it comes in here, it's endearing more than anything. Vocals are menacing but you never get the sense of this being another "kill all whores" style yells. Sounds like the man is angry... so angry. Anger is good sometimes.
Green Tea - Private Universe (Tribe Tapes)
Finally pulling from the CD section of the "listen to" stack. As the Green Tea discography continues to expand, I find myself asking the question of "how does an artist evolve?" I think anyone engaging in the creation of art has to ask this question at some point. Some will jump from style to style across recordings, while others will gradually introduce new sounds to the formula over time. In noise, the latter may not come across as immediate, especially when output becomes so frequent. For Green Tea though, it is the approach he has taken, and it pays off with close listening.
The opening minutes of this recording throw that idea off though, as it opens with the usual pretty synth/digital cut-up sound the project has become so synonymous with. My first thought was "man, will this project ever do something else?"
My question found an answer as I listened more intently though. What sounds like vocal cut-ups and heavy looping begin to enter the fray. Sure, you have plenty of that new age sound still present but things are moving along. It eventually starts to feel like I am trapped inside a melting VHS cartridge. I find myself enjoying this quite a bit!
One day, I would love to see a Green Tea release that deals with almost no pretty sounding stuff and leans completely into the weirdo, nasty harsh he has built up. It could be pretty cool! For now though, I find myself thoroughly intrigued with the glacial evolution that Forte is taking with the project. Visuals for this album are also pretty cool, far more engaging than previous releases.
