PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[JBE]

Perfected Grave Vault: Conspiracy To Bequeath Fear and Violent Failure (Angst)

Yup, another one from the recent Angst batch.  Love this project.  There's a difference here in sound.  I don't know if it's different equipment, a different recording setup, or both.  This reminds me a bit of Violent Pleasures, at least if you mainly focused on the unrelentingly harsh sections, but also because it has a bit of a power electronics vibe to it (or just a Taint vibe).  This is really, really good but definitely a bit of a shift in overall sound.  Really short tracks.  Just pummeling.

[k.p.g]

Dead Door Unit/Outdoor Horse Shrine - A Dead Horse (Secret Buddy)
Bad optics to listen to your own material?  Maybe so.  It's just been a while since I had heard the collaboration on this, so I wanted to give it a listen.  There's a lot more oscillator and midrange whooshing action than I remember; approved!  Moving on...

Crying Motherfuckers - Houses of the Holy (LOML)
This LOML stuff is really the gift that keeps on giving.  Every time I pop in this or the Angel Examination Room tape, I am very impressed by more of what I hear.  This time, I picked up on the sound of a very violent band jam that I had not the first time.  The B-Side is a little more hypnotic and dreamlike than I previously thought.  I hope maybe the label plans for a repress at some point.  This deserves a wider crowd.

Worth - Hornbeam (Total Black)
I have been waiting some time to hear this; the final Worth release.  Bittersweet feeling, but the goods are still delivered here plentifully.  With it being such a short release, it is pretty interesting how slowly these pieces choose to crawl.  I would say it feels like both sides have these extremely slow builds that crescendo into quick bursts of outrage.  Never lasts super long though, as things immediately crawl back into the mundanity of life.  Great way for this project to go out.

Various Artists - Same Shit Another Name compilation tape vol. 1 (Scrotum Records)
An interesting comp that bridges the intersection of shitnoise, harsh noise and grindcore pretty well.  Names like Fuck the Facts appear alongside Richard Ramirez & Expose Your Eyes.  There are names I have never heard of like Einschlafhilfe & Redlight District throwing down; real A-listers meets D-listers.  You just don't see comps like this around that much anymore.  Everyone delivers though.  Worth picking up if you can grab it.

Jessica Rylan - Flight to the Ivory Tower/Total Confusion Recreation (Heavy Tapes)
This tape shows off a much more peaceful and (debatably) psychedelic side of Jessica's work.  Good synth chirping all at play.  Things unfold at a patient pace.  Nothing ever grows into harsh noise, but this stands its own ground against the rest of the spread I mentioned before.  A fun release with great replay value.

V/A - The Psychogeographical Research Institute (Psychogeographical Research Institute)
New tape label from John Pyle starts off with this mixtape, featuring... some John Pyle projects.  Hah, nice!  I like whatever John puts forth, it's always worth the listen.  His design work is also always among some of the best in the modern game.  I cannot wait to see where this new venture goes.  Have more tracks from the likes of Mistletoe, Amphibian & Pleasure Island is always a treat for now though.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Richard Ramirez / Mouths Agape - Split (Deadline)

Richard comes with the goods. No sense of wall or textural crunch on this track. Ripping and violent feedback with attitude. Some good high-end on this one. Striped down, bare bones, ripping noise done perfectly. It sounds like a single-take straight to tape, and you can tell he is in the zone and dialed in.

This is my first time hearing Mouths Agape, and I like what I hear! Again, no nonsense harsh noise crafted well. The track has a high-energy feeling. Everything moves rapidly. It's also a little lo-fi and choked out in a really good way. There are some dynamics from the high energy to an "eye of the storm" kind of moment. Also, very much a ripping feedback shaker box style track.

No nonsense harsh noise split c30, and both artists' tracks are great! Will be spinning this tape a lot over the next few weeks. 

[Minus1]

Slit Throats - Distort Maniac.

6 tracks / 47+min.

2022-2024. A re-release of a 2023 CDR, with two tracks added.

This is my very first Slit Throats experience. And if I was any happier there'd be two of me. Filthy, brutal, magnificent HNW-type works. My kind of Noise! Unfuckingcompromising.

Vomir and Rita might blush at this.

Each slab of concrete has a different colour and grade. A different texture / feel on each track.

There's some movement - subtle additions / subtractions. And some dynamics. Track 4 is a slight detour into distortion / feedback type sounds that gently wind like a mighty lava flow. (Ok I'm getting carried away here.) Track 5 has a layer of dancing squelch on top of an underlying rumble from hell. But HNW anchors all this.

Track titles are rather illuminating:
-eliminate all who pose.
-(tear their) infected inner ears to pieces.
-no noise, no life.
-the gospel of melting wires and blown speakers.
- burning harsh spirit.

Quite!

I see that Mr Slit Throats, Roman Joseph Leyva, posted at S+W briefly. He seems rather honest and direct! 😂 I like that! I'd love to tell him how much I appreciate this magnificent CD.

Beautiful. An instant fav. I must have more Slit Throats in my life.

[Minus1]

Slit Throats / USC - Mark City.

3 tracks / 48+min. 2023 recordings.

Well, this split is the only other Slit Throats that I currently have. This shall change! I know/knew nothing about Unsustainable Social Condition.

But I think this is a match made in heaven. Or, hell, rather.

Two studio tracks, and a shorter live one.

Fuckit - I'll steal the Input Error blurb, because it's so much better at expressing what I would type:

"...Locking into each other's signal paths and pushing until something gives.
Two tracks were recorded at Rossmore Lodge in Los Angeles, built from direct interaction rather than overdubs. Feedback is driven in real time, momentum from pressure minus structure.
The third track captures their live set at Machine Parts I Fest at Ochiai Soup, Tokyo, 2023. Recorded in the room, no corrections, no safety. The performance is raw, volatile, and loud enough to feel unstable. The crowd, the space, and the limits of the gear all bleed into the recording.
Harsh noise confrontation; physical, immediate, and uncompromising. No narrative, no atmosphere no bullshit. Impact endurance."

I love how the 3 rather similar tracks bleed into each other, creating a single 48min epic. It decays at the very end. Fantastic.

Anyway - this kicks my ass even harder than Distort Maniac. (Above.) Seriously great walls/sheets of Harsh Noise. It hypnotizes!

[k.p.g]

Sewer Election - Blod Utopie (Public Froth)
I try and give newer things from this project a fair shake every now and then.  I'd say as taste has developed over time, a project that expands into so many different territories like Sewer Election starts to become pretty "hit or miss" for me.  His ventures into more subdued and broken textures really take the cake for me.  The collab with An last year was a recent listen that I enjoyed a great deal.  The harsher, crisp-sounding material is a massive turnoff. 

So I'm pretty split on the work on Blod Utopie.  The A-Side felt like a slog to get through with just a chorus of harsh synth work meandering for about 18 minutes.  Side B flips those synths into the chiller territory, and that I can really groove with. 

At this point, it's impossible to figure out just what sound Dan will do across releases.  I can admire that devotion to keeping things interesting.  I do think there are others who will be more fascinated in this release than I will.

[Minus1]

Kazumoto Endo / A Fail Association – Look Here For Answers.

4 tracks - precisely 60min - precisely 2 tracks / 30min for each. 2026.

I have me some Endo, spanning the ages, but this is my first taste of A Fail Association, hereby AFA.

Endo takes the first half: jagged, cut up, geometric blocks of piercing sounds. Silence / space here and there. Sometimes loopy. Always gargantuan, and compelling. I visualize a tray of various coloured / shaped dice. D4s can be sharp as fuck! Unlike Slit Throats, you cannot get hypnotized on this. Too prickly.

AFA then barges in like a bull in a junkyard. I can immediately see how these two are brothers-in-arms. This is a wonderful pairing. AFA is darker, rougher, faster. The jagged edges that stop Endo in his tracks are eroded in AFA. More sheets of sound appear in this second half, inbetween and underneath the cutups.

These two have made a singular great album here. I shall enjoy replays of this!

[certainesthetik]

Heydrich - "A.S.P. Disorder" (Nil By Mouth 2020)

Haven't played this tape in probably 6 years. Heavy, saturated power electronics. Blown out vocals, sometimes chaotic. Plenty of distortion that helps meld the different sound sources which could be loops, samples, not sure. All of that sounds good and surprisingly unique, but always thrown by this particular tone that bothers shit out of me. I can't tell if its a certain frequency on a filter or some annoying digital artifact, but thankfully it doesn't last that long. The stuttering movie sample at the end of side B I could also do without. There is a fair amount of harsh noise blended in this tape, so its not totally straight forward power electronics in the strict sense, but a healthy mixture of PE and HN. An interesting and enjoyable listen. I have always loved the packaging of this tape because the artwork looks so good behind the metal netting. Awesome layout.

Umpio - "Arkivo" (Satatuhatta 2021)

Electroacoustic sounds, field recordings, delicious junks, and modular noise thrown into the wizard's blender! The harsh parts are blistering, with nice use of stereo mix. On/off style works great for letting the material breathe. Personally love the diverse sound palette, Umpio combines such a rich assortment of sound sources. But my favorite thing about this tape is the atmospheric parts. There is a long one on side A that reminds me of Speculum Fight's "El Capitan/Spring Shade Roller". Awesome use of field recordings. I thought maybe "Arkivo" meant these were recordings from master Dassum's archives, but a quick google search told me it means "Everyday Life" which makes just as much sense. Though in the liner notes it does say "assembled in Arkisto".. tricky dicky! Highly enjoyable, highly recommended tape.

Cruour Incendia - "Cior Thual" (Terminal International Unlimited 2016)

Picked this up at Nexus Records in NYC last year when I was playing in Brooklyn. God damn it, I need more Cruour Incendia!!! From harsh, heavy, pummeling industrial noise to sizzling, broken, fried electronics. Thumping rhythmic spurts, a matrix of factory incinerator blasts. Just truly awesome cut-up style industrial noise. Its expertly paced so it moves fast without ever getting boring, and I could easily listen to another 30 minutes of this. Also really enjoy the artwork of this tape. Silver slipcase and O-card, with great collages of mechanical/machinery. I will never get tired of seeing well made collages of these kind of industrial/factory visuals. Its as good as the best porno sluts artwork to me (which I also never get tired of!).

Parassitismo - "Un Destino Perfido" (Angst 2023)

"From Genova with hatred". Sinister and prodding HN/PE. Opening track primes you for the album with this sort of mocking, cackling sound– can't tell if it is actually someone laughing or if it is noise from something like a contact mic. I haven't been listening to too much "pure" PE, so maybe that has something to do with why I enjoyed this tape as much as I did, but it felt fresh. Although heavily processed, the vocals were not just typical chorus/flanger crap or typical aggro PE yelling, but sound twisted and malignant. One thing I really appreciate is the formality of the tracks. They have good flow, don't drag, and make sense in "compositional" way. Not that I am judging from some kind of music theory standpoint, but just something I noticed, like the tracks have a clear "beginning.. verse.. bridge... ending" sort of structure which sometimes can be formulaic, but in this case made the tape feel tight and intentional. Slashing noise bits, interesting synth riffs, well-balanced mix, gritty but clear sound. Good stuff. Keeping the legacy of Italian freaker noise alive!

Inbred - "Genetic Damage" (Narcolepsia 2024)

When I picked this up from Narcolepsia I didn't know anything about this project. Turns out it is related to Hate Sermon/Sonic Abuse who I have traded with before and have always enjoyed their noise and artworks. Wielding, pounding, feedback-laced harshness with tons of grit. Scraping, hammering, mantras of distortion. Rhythmic and scorching. It has primitive charm, but with the proper touch of care for mindful mixing and layering. Really hit the spot. At times it sort of reminds me of Coma Detox, also snippets of the music remind me certain eras of Bizarre Uproar, Menacing 84, something else I cannot place. Not in a copycat way. It has its own sound, and fucking hell is it blown to bits. Overcooked absolute saturation and it feels and sounds so good. Total analog plague sound!!! Recommended.