2019 constituted a plethora of noise in my listening habits. This list was begun in late October / early November so as to not bias the final releases of the year in my choices. I had acquired enough to make me want to comprehensively review what was there and take stock of what remained in my list for a month or longer before finalizing. After many edits, here is what was chosen.
V/A: The Silent Continuity of All Existence With Which the Victim Is Now One. (Prose Nagge)
If you've ever encountered—who hasn't?—the criticism that all harsh noise sounds the same, this compilation is a poignant rebuttal. There are tracks from artists I am familiar with. There are other tracks from artists with no information, no known releases, and of unknown origin. The simple fact that all of them stand up so strong among one another is astonishing. The source descriptors sound like benign, repetitive fodder in this genre: metal junk, feedback, pedal, distorted field recordings, guitar, and on and on. Yet here those terms showcase their distinguished variety and strength. Each track is clearly different from the others in sound, composition and energy while sharing the tight, focused, emotional clarity which harsh noise inhabits so uniquely.
K.M Toepfer: Undercut. (Absurd Exposition)
I first became aware of this artist's work with the release of Worth's Neanderthal Camera on K.M. Toepfer's label, Lead Lozenges. (A release I have yet to acquire or hear.) At the time, I listened to a number of his label release samples and was unmoved. The idea of using visual information as coded source material was a good one, I remember thinking, but was too intellectually abstract. The sounds lacked any thread to emotively latch onto as a listener. With Undercut, I must congratulate him for his persistence. His vision broke through, paying off in spades. This release sounds classic and brand new at the same time. All of my favorite auditory frequencies and compositional constructions are present. The sound is full, multidimensional, and doesn't neuter itself in only high, middle or low end sonics. They are all utilized with clarity and maturity. If this is the new "computer noise," then please lead the way, Mr. Toepfer. You've caught my full attention!
Smell & Quim: The Yellow Album. (Total Black)
A terrible one to highlight, given recent events. For an album with five versions of the same title, this is a captivating listen. This release avoided for the most part ruining the latter-day S&Q brilliance with overextended song length. There is a weird aspect of drone in recent releases or bang-you-over-the-head repetitiveness. Here, that aspect is largely relegated to the 'worst of the worst,' if you will. Why am I listening to a vitriolic diatribe of misogyny? A quick, off-hand exclamation is easily excused—if jokingly self-exhibiting. A near nine minute, repetitive diatribe? It forces the underlying question(s) that a passed-off joke only hints at. This album, counterintuitively, is as confrontational and disturbingly insightful as the 'worst' of Power Electronics while retaining the ability to laugh at its absurdity. By the way, why are so many people interested in Eva Braun? Personally, I could give a shit (pun intended).
A final point that is strictly separated from the sounds therein: The 5" lathe is wonderfully cut, surprisingly clear. The Yellow Album is a physically exemplary release.
Yureka Ca$h: For Gilbert. (Fusty Cunt)
This release is so honest that it is heartbreaking, yet it equally contains elements of joy, sincerity and amusement. This is the most fitting eulogy for a beloved friend of the artist without sugarcoating the reality of drug addiction, poverty and personal exclusion that affects so many people in modern life. How can a statement be equally difficult and joyous and admissive at the same time? And not only that—it is sonically beautiful and brilliant. I, as many of us, buy multitude of releases on less than knowledgeable grounds in search of the rare gem that rises above the rest. This is one of those. From the honest admissions within, to the celebrations of an otherwise judged, discarded life, to the gorgeous, fold-out poster of a j-card artwork... This is one release worth listening to. At the very least once. Preferably more. A dear statement of love and genuine humanity.
I have a few more to go. To be continued...
