V/A - Cénotaphe (Les Nouvelles Propagandes): Classic comp from '91 that's still available from the label. Side A is comprised of a single De Fabriek track that plays out in the complexity of a full-length; almost 35-minutes worth of music. A flawless composition of tape-music, industrial sounds, and dated synth tones that are nothing like the modern retro slag we're bombarded with anymore. This tape could be just this song and be worth the price tag, and then some. Side B starts off with Laurent Pernice. While still hazy like the De Fabriek piece, this isn't so drifting. A menacing, rumbling rhythm underlies the track, while almost pastoral synth lines contradictorily clash with the backbone before surprisingly shifting into a martial-industrial-like assemblage. A fascinating and somehow not-dated work. La Sonorité Jaune works out a haunting piece reminiscent of some quality 80's horror soundtrack moments. Echoing sounds of a passing train and a child's xylophone (perhaps) intermingle with some simple droning material. There's even some enjoyable Muslimgauze included as well - as in, enjoyable despite preferred eras of Jones' work. An effect-laden dulcimer recording adds a sacral mysteriousness to the comp's flow. The moment of beauty is stopped short by Pacific 231's piece made almost entirely of slowed-down voice. Not an exciting track in and of itself, but it isn't so poor in the life of the whole tape. Not sure what the discussion is, and that hurts the interest of the piece quite a bit. Das Synthetische Mischgewebe contributes a piece with a hilariously long and literal title: "Etude Pour : One Motor Played Guitar And Three Low Frequenz Oscillators Stearing Three Voltage Controlled Filtrers"...and it is literally just that. A really slayer in the harsher stylings that DSM sometimes has. A simple, pulsating track from Esruk, quite reminiscent of Vertonen, steadily devolves into a reverberating mess of shortwave hiss and feedback before Brume finishes things off with a track that I would think is anyone but Renou. I'm hearing more Club Moral (sans vocals) and Esplendor Geométrico in this. Kind of a dud way to round off such a dismal, distant and rock-solid tape, but one can always reach for "stop" followed by "fast-forward" at this point. Now, the title is "Permafrost (Version Rapide)", so maybe there's a slower, more appropriate, version of this song out there.
Treha Sektori - Severh Sehenh (Cyclic Law): Something odd has been taking place this year...I've been buying a lot of dark ambient and actually loving it. This album, although I set it aside for some time after the first few listens, is one of the better new releases I've heard. The first association I can make is to Pussygutt's She Hid Behind Her Veil... (which is a killer album! Far better than the cliche bearded doom paths they later have walked), at least in regards to the sense of lulled rhythm and in-and-out bell-like tones. Treha Sektori is definitely an active listen, if the past two full-lengths are evidence enough. The volume moves to all heights and depths; in a way, like modern classical music does. The length is essential here too; sub-40-minutes keeps the interest piqued the whole while. Also, being a single track, it's worth mentioning just how strong and interesting the composition remains. It's actually much more enjoyable than a dozen changes in atmosphere. The whole thing is devoid of the faux-occult nonsense that permeates 99% of the genre. It's much more internal and personal sounding without being whiny shit, heh.
Profetus - Saturnine (N/A): Derivative funeral doom that is saved by two simple factors: 1). There's only two tracks at under 30-minutes. This usually is a perfect length for this genre (like splits!!) unless it is a sheer masterpiece. 2). Most importantly, the dubbing is so brutally mangled and warbly that this is potentially appealing for non-metalheads. I picked up the two most recent full-lengths hoping for some lo-fi excellence like this, but...
