Athletics Crew s/t C20 (Harmony, 2018)
Athletics Cew mixtape (Harmony, 2018)
Kind of strange to think this stuff is by the guy also known for the From Nothing To Nothing tape on Vanity Recordings – that's some of the most dismal and negative PE I've ever heard while this is positive, energetic, life affirming noise-industrial-experimental with no fear of being sillly. On the self-titled tape, A-side, we get high-end, reverb-soaked harsh noise with a forward propulsion kinda like stuff by Milos Olympus. The B-side is more like something Rodger Stella or Violent Onsen Geisha might do; noise with a dub/hip-hop feel. Seems to be different drum machine patterns, beat samples, and a couple other vocal/musical samples chopped up with a looper of some kind and splashed with reverb. Weird, stuff that I would usually hate but I find this refreshing in that sometimes you need something less serious. I can recommend this to Stoa only.
Mixtape side A is even more strange, being some kind of sub-industrial electronics wonk alongside some very strange monologue/recitation samples with tape-warped samples of some kind of religious or political procession – or possibly some kind of sports game – underneath, but too damaged to make out. Eventually some undefineable traditional music seeps in, too. This is pretty killer in that there is no real atmosphere other than "file under: weird." Perhaps a bit meandering and doesn't venture much, but nice in that it has that challenge of "what the fuck" but that of course makes it all the more compelling. Sort of has that "traveler" vibe like some of the stuff that's come out on Korea Undok Group. Side B is less thrilling, swirling and whooshing harsh noise with a reverb-y industrial tone, not that great. Appears to have some acoustic background sounds that I think should have been emphasized instead of the wall of noise. I do admire the audacity of putting such disparate material on either side, though. Recommended for those who view tapes as kind of audio tourism.
Destroy Date "Inner Dialogue" CS (Love Earth Music, 2013)
Apparently a "collective" project most often involving Steve Davis of +DOG+ with a revolving host of others, including known and unknown names. You wouldn't think, however, considering this comes off as one guy's collection of audio refuse. This is the sort of thing you can tell was interesting to record and listen to for the people involved, but for as at home, not so much. One part is a recording of what is, according to the liner notes, some kind of kids' beauty pageant, another section is obviously from some telemarketing company. It's interesting to read the liner notes about the personal significance of these recordings, but not to actually listen to them. Some parts are actually unlistenable such as a pointless drum machine beat for several minutes or the first thirteen fucking minutes being a radio station sample tape with countdowns and then five seconds of every annoying radio song you can think of. Challenging only in the sense of "can you keep from fast-forwarding?" Minus a thousand points for making mention of twelve-step groups in the booklet.
Hand & Knee "Sheltering" CS (Submersive Productions, 2017)
Really nice and atmospheric but crude mix of subtle, tape-saturated electronics (10%) and various field recordings of outdoor and some indoor sounds (90%), not unlike early Arv & Miljo, Ashpa, Blodvite, Flysch, Zone Nord etc. Very "Swedish" vibes with the austerity one would expect. Hard to elaborate on such simplicity but if you're interested, you'll probably like it. Recommended for those who like that sort of thing. Probably my favorite release from this project despite there being not much to it. Somewhat haunting and eerie – suffers from "meandering syndrome" a bit because it sounds pretty much unedited, but still listenable 95% of the time. I could easily see an edited version of this coming out on a label like No Rent or even Kye, if it was remixed and mastered by someone with that kind of techie background.
NIT "Clear" CS (self-released, 2018)
Although a bit more raw and differing in certain tracks than the demos I heard, this is perhaps even better than the first NIT tape. Really strong, high-fidelity power electronics with a very tense, refined edge. In terms of sound, this has more in common with Iron Fist Of The Sun, more recent Koufar, or later Whitehouse than the raw or melancholic stuff coming out today. Song structure is both aggressive and brooding, as most PE should be. Still can't quite make out the lyrics due to heavy effects processing (multiple styles each track which is always a good thing), so the delivery is not unlike certain Slogun or the above-mentioned IFOTS. Manic Panic hair dye font used for the logo is a nice touch, too. I can very much see folks into the more current Unrest roster liking this, although it's miles away from "heavy electronics."
