PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[HateSermon]

ZSS - Guilty CD. WRATH 2025
God damn is it nice to have "new" ZSS material! Some unreleased tracks and two taken from the Psychomania comp. I remember hearing some of these songs from the Der Bunker soundcloud years ago, which was then taken down and I wondered if they would ever see the light of day again. You have a good variety of the different styles ZSS experimented with all present here. From the more ham-fisted, aggressive hits [tracks "Guilty", "Race Riot"] to the more industrialized, droning compositions [track "Praljak Save Us", one of my personal favorites]. This CD could almost act as a primer for anyone not familiar with the artist's work. I know I'm not alone when wishing for another release from this project but if this is the last one, then I'd consider it a solid ending. 

[k.p.g]

Diaphragmatic - Broken Man (Urgent Telepathy Recordings)
Found this for only $3 over the weekend when I went to New York.  Good price for something I know will rip!  Also makes for a perfectly scummy soundtrack after having to remove a mouse carcass out from under the sink...

Despite not remaining as prolific as his brother, Nate Tandy's Diaphragmatic project ranks amongst the top spots of that 2010's rust belt noise scene.  Tons of crunch and metal looping to be found here.  From what I have heard of the project, that is pretty much its main sound.  Not that I am complaining though, he does it so well!  Titles like "Firefucker" and "Murder Holes" (which I will now call my sink for being the scene of 2 mouse executions currently) are apt titles for something this hellish.  It is fist-pumping harsh noise, but not totally mindless.  Great stuff.

[Balor/SS1535]

ZSS - Guilty CD. WRATH 2025
God damn is it nice to have "new" ZSS material! Some unreleased tracks and two taken from the Psychomania comp. I remember hearing some of these songs from the Der Bunker soundcloud years ago, which was then taken down and I wondered if they would ever see the light of day again. You have a good variety of the different styles ZSS experimented with all present here. From the more ham-fisted, aggressive hits [tracks "Guilty", "Race Riot"] to the more industrialized, droning compositions [track "Praljak Save Us", one of my personal favorites]. This CD could almost act as a primer for anyone not familiar with the artist's work. I know I'm not alone when wishing for another release from this project but if this is the last one, then I'd consider it a solid ending. 

I didn't realize that "Race Riot" was on this one too!  I had totally forgotten about that track since the Soundcloud was taken down, but I remember liking that one a lot in particular.

[Phenol]

I'm home alone and have fallen into a Lustmord hole (again!). I'm just listening to the debut LP again and again feeling like it's the best record ever - the perfect blend of all the elements I love weaved together in one neat package. Dark, noisy, some metallic clanging, dead sounding drum machines pounding away, crazy warped vocals (some by John Balance), manipulated gregorian chants, tibetan horns and other ritualistic elements, downtuned church bells, children's melodies, weird samples; the fucking works! It's like early Current 93 and prime SPK had a beautifully twisted baby.

[k.p.g]

Howard Stelzer & Frans de Waard - Pink Pearl (Bocian Records)
Received a stack of Stelzer CDs some years ago and just never bothered to dive in.  Felt compelled to do so today.  This was a nice morning record.  Gentle tape, radio, etc. manipulation.  You could've guessed that, given the personnel.  The cover of a couple onshore boats and melting snow is fitting for such a work.

Aaron Dilloway/Jim Morrison - Fear Swept the Poolside (Laffs & Danger)
Picked this one up on the cheap in NYC last weekend.  Curious to know what Side B is all about.  I have seen & heard enough Dilloway performances to know I will enjoy Side A.  Side B though... curious.  According to Discogs, it is something from Jim Morrison of The Doors.  Hate that band, so hah - we will see how that goes for me.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Government Alpha and Fecalove - Entropic Trash Apotheosis CD

Collaboration from Yoshida and Nicola released in 2022. Co-released by Turgid Animal and Narcolepsia.

This one kicks off firing on all cylinders and never lets up. Industrial machine like loops, gritty harsh electronics, and metal junk abuse from Fecalove. Colorful kaleidoscope noise assault from Mr. Government Alpha. I'm not very familiar with the work of Fecalove, but the two pair up beautifully here. There is a lot going on in the stereo field and it almost feels like three-dimensional noise. The results are truly astonishing. Bravo to whoever did the final mixing and mastering on this one.

Maybe it wasn't well distributed at the time but I don't recall hearing anything about this release. This is a remarkably impressive album and should have been on everyone's album of the year list.

Also, big fan of the naming of the album and tracks. Entropic Trash Apotheosis is a fantastic album name and I love the title of track #2, Spiritual Sublimation Through Magnetic Tape Worship. It also of course features Yoshida's collage work on the album cover which is always a treat.

[k.p.g]

Guam River - Tests for Dennis the Maniac (American Tapes)
A journey into the Michigan fog has taken me to this tripped out project today.  This is one of the few Olson projects that has eluded me as far as hearing recorded material.  Only this and the LP on Ultra Eczema I have heard.  That being said, I like the variety of sound present here from John.  Not much in the way of horn work, with much more focus being on broken electronics.  Sounds like tape and vinyl are fucked with heavily throughout.  The sputtery, homemade electronics are present of course, but are used in sparse and creepier settings.  This one has an unsettling aura surrounding it.

[k.p.g]

Grunt - The New Form of the Organic Machine (Freak Animal)
Today's noise undertaking was going through all 2 hours of this behemoth.  It is broken as all hell.  Broken down guitar being beaten to shit.  Electronics sounding fried out in every corner.  Vocals sounding like machine gun blasts.  Great stuff.  Saw this had been reissued as part of a 90s boxset of other Grunt material by Mikko but not in its entirety.  I am not sure I agree here with that, as I think it is all great.  Side D drags a bit but that is only complaint.  This is a great listen for anyone who wants the inbetween of Industrial and Shitnoise of the 90s variety.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Actually this was released in its entirety on the box. Only releases that were not complete on 10xCD "90's tapes" anthology, was the very first ones. Two split tape and "Industrial Madness?" tape, and "One Animal Above The Others" totally useless bonus track of original tape, guitar noise rehearsal (hah...) was cut away from reissue. This means the disc one of the 10xCD is like sampler of best things from very first tapes, but all the other 9 CD's are complete releases.

[k.p.g]

Actually this was released in its entirety on the box. Only releases that were not complete on 10xCD "90's tapes" anthology, was the very first ones. Two split tape and "Industrial Madness?" tape, and "One Animal Above The Others" totally useless bonus track of original tape, guitar noise rehearsal (hah...) was cut away from reissue. This means the disc one of the 10xCD is like sampler of best things from very first tapes, but all the other 9 CD's are complete releases.

That's what I get for skimming Discogs half awake when first researching.

[Phenol]

Side B though... curious.  According to Discogs, it is something from Jim Morrison of The Doors.  Hate that band, so hah - we will see how that goes for me.

I have a very ambigous relationship with Jim Morrison/The Doors. He/they embody everything I hate about rock mythology. A fucking self indeulgent cunt with a drug problem acting as if he's a god even if the music is pretty , well, weak (but also kind of weird, even for its time...). Moreover, fans of The Doors are generally the worst kind of people. They're right up there with fans of Depeche Mode, Nick Cave and, ahem, Current 93 (I'm one of those...), but... and for me that' a huge but... my dad was a huge Doors fan and many of my fondest memories from my childhood consist of listening to those records with him. Later on when I was ateenager we'd read stuff like Aldous Huxley, Herman Hesse, Carlos Canstaneda etc. together and discussing them on the background of the music and mythology of The Doors. This interest in "high brow" psyhedelic culture also lead to a mutual exploration of Ligeti, Stockhausen, Penderecki etc., so in many ways The Doors were a gateway to where I'm at today. There's no doubt there's better shit out there and bands way more important for the stuff I like, but I just can't erase the lasting impact The Doors and all the surrounding culture left on me, even if it was to some extent only by accident that it came about this way. That was a long essay on personal shit after a simple NP entry, haha, but I hope you will bare with me and that it was, at least, a good listen.

[k.p.g]

but I hope you will bare with me and that it was, at least, a good listen.

I understand a personal connection to a band and how they can be an important gateway; no worries about tangents!
This listen was good actually.  Turns out it was mostly just sparse loops of Doors songs and live snippets of Jim Morrison talking.  Think someone in Tusco Embassy is responsible for this.

[k.p.g]

Clearance - The Seeds That Were Silent (Tribe Tapes)
Was woken up by a little dog that had to use the bathroom so badly this morning.  Once she's up, I am up too.  So what to listen to at 5am?  Hmm... This is good.  Not too chaotic but plenty trippy for a half awake guy clipping artwork out.  Enjoyed my revisit of this tape thoroughly.  Love Zac's unique space he occupies between lo-fi harsh noise and pure psychedelia.

Medical Slab - Stiff (Hospital Productions)
This new tape from a very obscure Ramirez project was so good until it decided to get harsh.  I don't think I could have imagined that being a complaint for a Ramirez tape but here we are!  The dark ambiance of Medical Slab is peculiar to me and I wonder how other works compare.   This is the first release from the group in a very long time so who knows if it is brand new or archival.  Who knows if it still a group at all.  Who ever knows with Richard?

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Rummage – K. Paisley Plays Jay Howard Plays Max J. Eastman c60 (Adjacent)

Great for tape weirdo mangled maniacs! Rummage is a group consisting of Max J. Eastman, Jay Howard (Circuit Wound), and K. Paisley.

The first track is Jay Howard reworking source material from Max J. Eastman. Being that the source is from Max, the sounds are mostly heavily abstract tape and vinyl sounds. There are snippets of conversations, electronics, and speeding cars all weaving in and out of focus in a highly dizzying manner. It feels like you are trying to focus in on various conversations at a party, and the TV is flickering in between channels, and you just can't seem to focus on any one specific thing at a time. This track is very disorienting, and I love how carefully the sounds were edited together. Really interesting and unique track.

The second track is K. Paisley Plays Jay Howard. I'm only familiar with Paisley's Master of Puppets tape on Purveyors, which was a highly rewarding blind purchase. This track is in a similar disorienting style as the first track, which creates nice consistency. A little more sputtering electronics-focused, but good use of chopped up dialogue and other found sounds interspersed as well. Still very abstract with a fast-paced and wildly shifting sound stage. A great pitched-down recording of someone reciting, "Gargling gorgonzola with a gargling cornucopia of..." indecipherable jargon. Haha I don't know why that stuck out to me so much, but I loved it.

A really rewarding, playful, and fun release. Very much has an old tape collage or old school tape cut-up feel at times.

No excuse not to grab it as Jay is only charging $6 for a copy!

[k.p.g]

Kites - Hallucination Guillotine (Load Records)
We return to the land of the "$3 Classics" to take on this disc.  There is no excuse for anyone with any remote interest in that 2000's artsy synth noise to not own this disc.  It's a fantastic intersection of beeping machines, power electronics and intense psychedelia.  While not the biggest fan of dry spoken word on noise, Kites has always managed to pull it off.  Seriously, I just saw it on Discogs for $3.  No excuses.