PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[k.p.g]

One Dark Eye - Transmissions of Fistulae Auris (Mother Savage)

Closing out the work day with more Pittsburgh freak shit.  I actually think the works of One Dark Eye from the 90s resonate with me more than that of their parent project, and this tape does a great job of displaying why.  Tape murk is excellent, where harsh parts are crushed so hard that they transcend into an ambient territory.  I could take a nap at points!  Beyond that though, tape manipulation and mixing is on point here.  So many weird sounds that would usually be the "seasoning" on top of Macro assaults are now taking center stage.

[k.p.g]

Star - Linzess for Polymuse (I Am Elegant)

Amp and mic feedback at its most pleasant.  Often times this combo brings some sort of intensity, frustration, etc.  You have a guy yelling about some pain; and yeah, it can make the hairs stand on your neck, but it is also intentionally morose in vibe.  Here though, I get none of that.  Feels like Star simply enjoys making the sounds and is rocking out.  It is closer to Emil Beaulieau than Prurient in that sense.  Later works and performances may have been more realized, but the vision was not far off from what it is now on this early tape.

[Cranial Blast]

Aaron Turner - Repression's Blossom (SIGE Records)
Mentioned in a previous thread that after spending a weekend with Old Man Gloom's Seminar II record, I wanted to check out Aaron Turner's solo work from the last few years.  I know he used to perform under House of Low Culture, but that project truthfully never made a single thing that ever gripped me.  It falls under the "metal guy who tries making noise" category.  You know; dude finds out about Trogotronic and is aware that Merzbow was on Relapse, so maybe he can do the same thing.  The end product is usually terrible.  But I think enough has passed since then, and maybe his newfound friendships with the likes of Daniel Menche, Keiji Haino & Kevin Drumm (who is featured on this record) could lead to something better. 

My suspicions are correct; this is a pretty solid slice of noise.  Despite heavy use of guitar, rarely does the instrument's trademark sounds make themselves apparent and file this under "cringe guitar noise."  Instead, guitar is used for loads of piercing feedback stabs.  I like that.  Tape and oscillators are sprinkled well into here, and never really enter that "wankery" territory.  Another check.

If anything, my main complaint is that the first 2 tracks never seem to go anywhere.  I can forgive that though because the last two tracks are more than interesting enough for me to sit through to the end.  I think a more refined follow up is definitely possible here.  Happy I gave it a try.

Macronympha - Relentless Agony (Tribe Tapes, reissue)
The title is pretty on point for this return to the Macro world.  It doesn't let up.  Let's see how far I can make it before I either tap out or am called into a work meeting. 

Macronympha - Relentless reissue was nice to see! I've had the cassette tape for some time and it's one of the go-to tapes by Macronympha, lots of distorted harsh noise calamity at it's finest! I'm curious as to why the CD didn't have a booklet, I'm guessing perhaps just was that limited to have any orginal art. I hope Tribe Tapes can and will do a CD reissue of Macronympha's Physical Chaos album. I think that's my favorite stuff by Macronympha, so a CD version would be great!

[Tribe Tapes]

Macronympha - Relentless reissue was nice to see! I've had the cassette tape for some time and it's one of the go-to tapes by Macronympha, lots of distorted harsh noise calamity at it's finest! I'm curious as to why the CD didn't have a booklet, I'm guessing perhaps just was that limited to have any orginal art. I hope Tribe Tapes can and will do a CD reissue of Macronympha's Physical Chaos album. I think that's my favorite stuff by Macronympha, so a CD version would be great!

To try something different, we decided that the disc itself + jewel case should be the cover artwork. The original cassette via Art Konkret had a couple different cover designs, psychedelic / colorful patterns. Elements of these are used elsewhere in the packaging. It is not mentioned anywhere on the release page, but the CD is sent alongside an additional xeroxed insert. The idea is that it can be folded and used as an optional cover.

[Cranial Blast]

Macronympha - Relentless reissue was nice to see! I've had the cassette tape for some time and it's one of the go-to tapes by Macronympha, lots of distorted harsh noise calamity at it's finest! I'm curious as to why the CD didn't have a booklet, I'm guessing perhaps just was that limited to have any orginal art. I hope Tribe Tapes can and will do a CD reissue of Macronympha's Physical Chaos album. I think that's my favorite stuff by Macronympha, so a CD version would be great!

To try something different, we decided that the disc itself + jewel case should be the cover artwork. The original cassette via Art Konkret had a couple different cover designs, psychedelic / colorful patterns. Elements of these are used elsewhere in the packaging. It is not mentioned anywhere on the release page, but the CD is sent alongside an additional xeroxed insert. The idea is that it can be folded and used as an optional cover.

Interesting! I wondered that with the additional xeroxed insert, if that wasn't ment to potentially be part of the CD for some supplemental piece of art. Thanks for the low down on that and thanks for re-issuing this one too, definitely some solid Macronympha material!

[morbid_dyspepsia]

For anyone that appreciated Music blogs like Terror Noise Audio, Cosmic Hearse, Bleak Bliss, Terminal Escape and the like or the YT channel's Celestial Railroad and Dronemf.S, I am still developing a (mostly) Australian version full of rarities from Harsh Noise to Noisecore to Synth-punk to Death Metal, etc. All up for review.

https://www.youtube.com/@Occult_Gibbet/videos

[k.p.g]

Wolf Eyes/Prurient - The Warriors (Hospital Productions)

Decided to give this one the full try after putting it off for some time.  To be honest, releases with larger edition numbers  get shoved so far back on my "to-listen" list because of the fact that they are so readily available.  It can almost feel like saying "hey guys, I'm listening to this crazy record called Nevermind.  It's pretty great!"  What a silly way to think though, as this CD is just as fine a choice as any limited run tape from either artist.

I remember reading a review that the Wolf Eyes portion of this split is "boring/lackluster."  Not sure what the reviewer was thinking, as this is a pretty good slice of Michigan dread from the Connolly-era of this band.  Plenty of trashy drones and basement crashing colliding in full stereo panning.  While jams may be a little more "aimless" than the bigger Wolf Eyes releases tend to be, this is by no means a bad set of recordings. The only other reason I could think of them not enjoying it is because...

The Prurient side of this release is NASTY.  I remember the first time I heard this material on the Recycled tape from which it is culled, I was fist pumping like an idiot in my father's kitchen.  I was probably make eggs or a quesadilla.  That feeling has not subsided, but rather manifests in the form of me mildly bobbing my head in my cubicle; about as rowdy as one can get in the office space.  While I find the version on the Recycled tape to flow better, the mastering work here makes it have a greater edge to its bite.

I think it's time to stop pussyfooting around and spend $5 on this disc.

[k.p.g]

Prurient - Shrimp Crescent (Hospital Productions)
Prurient - Starvation (Hospital Productions)

2 shorties to tide over me over for lunch time listening.  These two come from what I have dubbed Prurient's "crap era," in which the audio quality was just crap.  Everything is probably recorded to a walkman or broken tape deck, and that ugly fidelity adds to the power of these releases!  Well, most of the time.

I did not really enjoy either one of these releases as I do other tapes from around this period like Sexual Magic or African Divison.  Shrimp Crescent is all around lackluster and Side B of Starvation does not save it from having a meandering A-Side (even if it does have the best Prurient title in "A Very Small Person"). 

I guess they can't all be zingers!

[k.p.g]

Stress Orphan - Trash Pussy (DYT DIY)
Prurient - Trapdoor (Hospital Productions)
Prurient - Rubber Bullets (Hospital Productions)

Last night into this morning's playlist.  It is interesting to hear the beyond refined Stress Orphan in its infancy.  Releases now have so much intentional movement to them, while this one feels more like an improv session.  Not too much in the way of vocals either, except for samples being used.  I think there is drum machine buried in there somewhere.  The project has gone on to achieve heights far greater than this, but it made for a fun way to break the tape player in at the new crib.

Prurient dominated the morning commute with 2 records to put on.  Still lingering in that era of low fidelity, and Trapdoor is a little better than my previous 2 listens from yesterday.  The B-Side goes eerily quiet towards its second half.  Rubber Bullets stands as one of the finer moments in the Prurient discography, and I just felt a relisten was in order.

[HateSermon]

"Visual Depravity 3" Zine. WRATH.
Whoo boy WRATH really cranked up the heat on this one. Total filth. The first two issues have featured artwork seen in other releases but this one looks like it's all new work (?). More pages here, too. I was hoping for another installment from the WRATH AUDIO DIVISION but will kinda just take what I can get from this label.

Bizarre Uproar Live DVDR. WRATH.
Regular sized disc in a proper case this time, rather than the mini dvd in the iconic black bag. Same dvd that comes with the Bloodlust box set but also available separately for those of us on a budget. 3 different gigs! Lithuania 2015 is good, St. Petersburg 2016 great, but the REAL reason I got the dvd was the infamous 25th Anniversary gig at Kontti. I've seen photos and heard audio but have been waiting forever for someone to release the vid. There were clips of this on YouTube many years ago but that didn't last long for obvious reasons. Its an orgy of blood, rubber, and sex. The rubber clad participants fucking and abusing each other and the line between crowd and performance is quickly blurred. Pushing, shoving, collapsing. Blood everywhere. Hell, at one point I thought someone had died. The whole gig is shot POV so you're smack dab in the middle of it. Perfect. Now, if only we can get the "Farewell" gig footage...


Palokoro - Vapaat miehet kulkemaan. Cassette. Freak Animal.
Cold warzone atmosphere of scraping iron, low rumbling of tanks, digging of ditches and reloading of ammo. Or at least that's what it sounds like to me. Excellent variation of sounds and sense of space here... some things sounding closer and some miles away on the horizon. Intense moments of entering the battlefield (Side A) and more somber, contemplative moments of loss and exhaustion (Side B). All of this sounds like field recordings and broken electronics. Repetitive sounds but not always loops as you can pick out changes in rhythm. Very creative.

Sarin Snow - "Death Numerology" 12". Fusty 2024.
I imagine old dusty ruins. Cobwebs, shattered stone statues, a single warm light source eminating in the distance yet the feeling of unease and anxiety as you realize you'll probably never see the other side. Ghastly vocals echo throughout an ancient corridor. Very minimal sounds here but everything is carefully orchestrated. Pulsating synths are the backbone with tastefully added percussion here and there. A very dense sound overall. Fans of a more aggressive berserker style PE sound will probably not like this. Slow and menacing.

[AKTI Records]

Lovely Midget LP (Fördamning Arkiv)

Much like the Island of Taste reissue, I doubt this will ever sell out - but that's not Lovely Midget's fault. Cool as wool, bright as the night sky. Alien from Kiwiland. Fantasmo! Some losers just don't get it, but luckily some losers do.

Originally released on Corpus Hermeticum, now reissued by F-Arkiv, this is music that hums beneath the surface, a secret frequency waiting for the right receptors. Not the one to beg for attention, nor does it need to. This is the kind of Sound (see the capital S in the name of Crowley) that drifts into the psyche like an old radio transmission from a parallel Earth - delicate yet charged, floating yet undeniable.

Let me tell you. Mystery in music isn't about obscurity, it's about resonance. That deep, unshakable connection between those who will never meet but somehow connect. Like hattifnattar, storm-seeking creatures from Moomin, drawn to invisible electricity. Lovely Midget hums in that realm, linking distant minds through a current of sound, neither here nor there but present in everywhere.

Corpus Hermeticum wasn't just a label - it was a thought experiment in sonic mysticism. Now F-Arkiv carries the torch, ensuring these transmissions don't vanish into the void. Put this on late at night, when the edges of things feel less certain. Let it hover. See if you feel the charge my hattifnattars.

[minimal.impact]

Currently waiting for a cyclone to bear down on the QLD coast, so thought I'd go over some recent acquisitions and older tapes. Just a few notes on each, also testing a new player which is surprisingly decent for a cheap unit when paired with headphones.


Dead Door Unit / Infibulation - Dead Door Unit / Infibulation CS (Detachment Programs 2023)

First proper time I've heard either project (on physical media, not just a Youtube upload), the DDU side has a nice variety of stuff going on with all the usual clangs, crumples mixed with that recorded hot sound. There's a good bit of down time here too to help everything flow, these quiet bits are equally as interesting to listen to.

Infibulation follows with some reverby (mic) feedback-as-instrument, accompanied by staccato percussive "stuff" on the first track. Other tracks include carefully phreaked-out electronics, and finally slowing down the vibes once it reaches a more traditional PE palette towards the end of the run time.

SBTDOH - Other Rooms Of The Mind (Shrouded Recordings, 2020)

Got the full colour printed version of this which makes it easier to fully appreciate the signifiers at play in the sounds. The first side is a set from the 2020 NorCal Noise Fest which was stream only that year, and it's subtle but you can almost hear the lower bitrate. On a side note, I've come to have a sort of nostalgia for that bitcrushed sound when used in moderation.

Anyone familiar with this project will know what they're in for. There's plenty of samples collaged throughout, which are presumably live mixed and jump around from subject to subject with the occasional section of lucidity. The two tracks on the B side have a clearer sound, and differ from the live one sonically and (at least tangently) in concept.

Outback - Outback (Breathing Problem Productions, 2022)

Nice bit of Australiana export/pre-Ozsploitation allusion, something which is certainly interesting to me when placed in a global noise context. Definite live sound qualities/exploratory approach with lots of synth work in much of the earlier tracks, at times more engaging than not. The later tracks are worth the long walkabout, you're rewarded with a well earned cold one before leaving town.

[Cranial Blast]

Run For Omniphobia - The Mall Of America Suite by label (Detachment Programs)

Listened to this one today and quite a strange one it is. It's along the lines of dark ambient/experimental/musique concrète. This tape certainly has some very strange, but subtle soundscapes. It sounds a bit dissonant at times and kind of like dreamlike to in some profound ways. Certainly a recommended listen for those looking for something noisy, but yet ambient and with some experimental touches.

[absurdexposition]

Flatline Construct – Audible Resolve CD-R (White Tapes, 1999)

From the brief two-piece era of Bloomer/Hodgins. One continuous piece split across five tracks (four exactly 10 minutes in length, with a final clocking in at 2:30). There are similarities to what Bloomer is doing now combining static and "moving" sounds/reverb. Not as pronounced in the mixing, but it's noticeable. Relatively laid back overall, almost cosmic in some ways with the delay level increasing as the piece progresses, but always with a harsher distortion undercurrent which still finds moments to bubble up. The sound isn't overly bright, and I'm curious to hear what the tape version is like, if the not-on-label Discogs entry with one owner is to be believed as legit [edit: it's not], as it may benefit from the format's saturation. Either way, a good early entry into the canon, and, while it breathes and sprawls a little more than latter day works, it's cool to hear the sounds and structures still be identifiable as Bloomer. I do notice in the credits that one of Scott Hodgins' roles was "structuring," but according to Bloomer this was all recorded live in one take, so it's unclear what is meant by that credit.