Decided to dig into Marco's more recent works since he's always a great contributor here and, thematically, his music seems refreshing. I was really happy to hear way less German PE than I've known his earlier albums to hold.
Wertham - Lombroso (Joy De Vivre): Probably my most beloved of these three. The atmosphere is a "hold", of course. By that I mean that the development of sounds is slow or non-existent. I think this is common ground for negative music. Atrax Morgue for instance... Conceptually, it's a deranged and interesting tape. My favorite aspect would have to be the vocals. Between the accent and through-the-wall quality, they're perfect.
Wertham - Lombroso II (Corrosive Art): Didn't quite do as much for me, but compare that to Mikko's comment above. What I do really like about this tape though, is that it has those harsh noise-like moments.
Wertham - Maladolescenza (Deathangle Absolution): And that's what's best about this 7"; it's just utterly intense. "Man-Ho'-Rexia" is totally fascinating. A disturbed look into post-social networking culture (or so I imagine this clip is from the web...). Marco takes the horror of this snippet up ten notches by contributing his own rendition of the poem sampled. Those vocals are A+! The flip is pretty good too, but nowhere near the other piece's supremacy. Boo to the hideous printing and $9 price tag for a single sheet of paper though. I can't hang with that victorious intolerance to all us scum and...blaaaah!!
Picked up Lacuna after being totally crushed by the sample from Fusty Cunt. The first two are "free" on Bandcamp.
VICTIM! - Lar (4 Eyes): All of these albums, impressively, are coming from the same mind. And these two freebies really lead up to what the tape has to offer. This first one isn't necessarily much to write home about; just a quality 15 minute face-slap of harsh noise.
VICTIM! - Ecos (Etched Traumas): Whereas this offers up some distant, dreary, "urban" field recording-based ambient. The air is hanging thick with PTSD and pills. Just stare up at the ceiling and drift off into your misery. Time almost stands before everything's over.
VICTIM! - Lacuna (Fusty Cunt): The real crusher though is this tape. A torrent of Tourette/Sickness-style cut-ups, but the abrupt "silences" don't teeter on that cracking, frenetic glitch that you'd expect. Often times you're left with nothing to hold you up (reminiscent of something you might hear from Giuseppe Ielasi), or maybe some brassy-keys that boost the sense of melancholy skyward. When vocals are present they're in that late-Koufar or Halflings territory where the manipulation is taken to its logical conclusion. But with VICTIM! (man, bad name...), this is exacerbated even more. The tension in this recording is sone of the most complex I've ever heard from a PE release. Check out the music videos on youtube, as those are great enhancement to these sounds.
V/A - Civic Occult Biology (Hospital Prod.): Just indulging in this from a blogger rip. I can't be arsed to hunt down and/or pay for the average Hospital release when there's so much risk involved anymore, hehe. And cash!! Anyway, this comp is a bit of a nostalgic romp if you ask me. Many of the elements herein are reminiscent of those good ol' days of harsh noise on the label. Aside from Laureate contributing a dud (beats...blechh!!) and Exploring Jezebel with a motionless/inappropriate conclusion, this thing is a ripper all the way. Nothing fresh, but it all hits the spot.
Michael Barthel - Etwas Wie Etwa Wars (Fluxus Montana): For a while now I've been staring at Tochnit Aleph's massive stash of Barthel tapes wondering if I should grab a couple, seeing as I loved the Stapel... CD so much. I figured this domestically-available bit would be a litmus test. But in the end, I don't think it resolved anything for me, haha. I'm still infatuated with Barthel's work. It rests in some absurdist/fluxist (duh!) domain that is surprisingly almost never goofy. It's a peek into an odd universe. This tape is fairly similar to what I've heard (and I'd venture to guess it basically all is...?), minus the fact that there seems to be more manipulation other than voice. Don't have the liner notes in front of me currently, but I know there was a list. Some moments are much more shrill and others are more (un-)musical. Really, there isn't a huge difference from the CD, so if you're curious, go for what's most affordable.
Francisco Meirino - Notebook (Techniques Of Self-Destruction) (Misanthropic Agenda): I expected nothing less than for this to gut me, since even Meirino's albums of source-recordings can be overwhelming, but, in truth, I was not prepared for this. I'd be so bold as to say this is his best. So if you've thought of digging in, but the discography's too daunting, well...here you go. If you're familiar with his output, it isn't so much that he's jumped onto a new sound, but that he's created an album with a dynamism and flow that is just too fucking good. Meirino's penchant for naming things with an affirmative self-contempt has never made more sense. Tell every run-of-the-mill PE clown to try and match this ferocity and vitriol.
Seers - From The Beginning... Until The End (Misanthropic Agenda): When I see Pete Swanson in the credits, I can't lie, I get scared. I don't want to club to noise. Seers has no reflection in Swanson's recent work though. He and Gerritt Witmer spew forth a unrelenting hour of droning, piercing, cerebrally-disorienting noise. This album is one of the first times in many years where I've thought to myself, "it's getting hard to breathe", while I play through. There's no moment of repose. Not like a 00's Fernow feedback seance though. This album's more like a subterranean interpretation of Radigue's Adnos I-III...it just doesn't let up. If you can't set aside the dedicated time for this, I think you'll miss the prime substance. If you do though, it's a doozy.
Jason Crumer - Disqualifier (Blossoming Noise): Listened to this again-and-again-and-again-and-again-and... ever since it landed on my porch. I can foresee this not appealing to some, but it hits all the right nerves for me. I think his last few albums showed masterfully constructed complexity, whereas this one showcases masterfully crafted simplicity. It stands in ambient/drone waters far more often than it dives underneath into the rush. Of course there are a few jap-noise-ish moments, but I'd say the heavy elements are more of a nod to classic industrial. ...loops!... When I saw the credits to all the brass instruments, I figured there'd be some bombastic finale - since Crumer definitely constructs his albums in a musical way. That's not really the case though. All the guests help to burn the album down to a miserable conclusion. Perfect album for me while I deal with my annual August manic depression. And of course, Graham assembled this beautifully and it's perfectly letter-pressed by Stumptown.
