PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[Scat-O-Logy]

BLOOD OV THEE CHIRST
No one will ever reach the level of insanity of Blood Ov Thee Chirst. They shouldn't even try because it would eat them alive. Fucked up fuck up who doesn't give a fuck. This is how I want to see Hatemaster. I'm not talking about the person, I'm talking about the alter ego. Hatemaster. Nothing matters. Only sex, drugs and rock'n'roll are real. Hail Hatemaster! Hail Satan! Never stop the madness!

[TerribleMiasma]

A Machine Called Orgasm - Daddylove

I wonder what happened to the Total Fucking Filth-label, which released this one and a bunch of other stuff in 2012 before seemingly dropping off the face of the earth (there was also a second part of 'Daddylove' which came with a  nasty small format zine).
The Repeat Offender-tape and those ultra crude K.ocK.choK.er-C10s were pretty awesome Power Electronics.

Dug out Porn Fed after reading the above review, best release from TFF. The two Daddylove tapes and the Stepfather one were pretty forgettable but will revisit soon out of curiosity. Always thought TFF was a Worthless Recordings sublabel...

There was a thread about the label on the old Stench Forums in which the Worthless-guy said that the dude behind the TFF is an acquaintance of his who lives in near isolation or something like that.
I wish I had scored this A.M.C.O.-compilation tape that came with a VHS porn, but if I remember correctly the Worthless-guy told me that , like most other TFF-releases, there were only a handful copies made of it.

[ConcreteMascara]

In the past month Australian metal has taken over my daily listening, supplanting the glut of harsh noise i had been working through. The primary offender is the new Vomitor LP, Pestilent Death. Prior to June i knew nothing of this band, but after reading their interview in Bardo Methodology they seemed worth checking out. It worked out well because my ears were just attuned to the spindly sound of Portal's new sound on their newest LP, ION, which is scrubbed of all the dirt previously found on their records.
But back to Vomitor. I didn't know what to expect but this extremely stripped down thrashing death metal is not my normal cup of tea. But goddamn if i didnt fall in love after a few listens. 7 tracks in 30 minutes. No wasted time, just killer riffs, searing and chaotic guitar solos and unpleasantly raw but clear sound. I feel bad for the bass player because the bass is nigh inaudible but the songs themselves don't suffer for it. The highlight for me is the closer "Hells Butcher" but the whole album is fucking good and so concise its just been multiple repeat plays each listening session.

[Hakaristi]

A Machine Called Orgasm - Daddylove

I wonder what happened to the Total Fucking Filth-label, which released this one and a bunch of other stuff in 2012 before seemingly dropping off the face of the earth (there was also a second part of 'Daddylove' which came with a  nasty small format zine).
The Repeat Offender-tape and those ultra crude K.ocK.choK.er-C10s were pretty awesome Power Electronics.

Dug out Porn Fed after reading the above review, best release from TFF. The two Daddylove tapes and the Stepfather one were pretty forgettable but will revisit soon out of curiosity. Always thought TFF was a Worthless Recordings sublabel...

There was a thread about the label on the old Stench Forums in which the Worthless-guy said that the dude behind the TFF is an acquaintance of his who lives in near isolation or something like that.
I wish I had scored this A.M.C.O.-compilation tape that came with a VHS porn, but if I remember correctly the Worthless-guy told me that , like most other TFF-releases, there were only a handful copies made of it.

That's right, I do recall some story about a backwoods curator.

http://www.special-interests.net/forum/index.php?topic=2077.msg15747#msg15747

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Entartun – s/t CD
OFR / Phosgen records
Collaboration between Scatmother and Yasuhito Fujinami dedicated to the aesthetics of vintage Japanese bondage, porn and exploitation cinema. Mixture between layered and full harsh noise tracks and in-your-face Power Electronics. Blending of the highly progressive and detailed Harsh Noise by Yasuhito Fujinami and the brutal and raw aspects known from previous Scatmother releases.

So what else needs to be said than quote label description? Well, Just to underline, this is what it really is. And what makes me like the release, is that electronics are well done. Ripping, loud and piercing, yet also with some innovation and most of all vivid feel of hands-on approach.

Of course I appreciate cold minimalist synth throbbing too, yet in recent years hear many many utterly lazy sonics in PE as well. Seemingly randon synth tone behind delayed vocals. It does get old quite quick if project just pushed one key down and keeps buzzing all the way through a track with zero interesting modulations or structures. Entartun is complete opposite. It is not totally free flowing harshness, yet also abandons too strict forms.

Typography could be tastier, but I like also the clean and sharp selection of images.  Played this couple times and appreciated! CD worth to grab!

[Bloated Slutbag]

MNEM - Hegonon
I wanted to write a proper commentary, but it seems my record player is on the on the fritz on the fritz on the fri- Burnt out, decrepit, dragging, burble-tronics. Is that the record player? You say power electronics I say unplug the piece of shit. If and when I get the damn thing working I might even recognize a mission statement in play- if unplug the piece of shit weren't statement enough! But okay, here's the statement. It comes rather late to the party, or rather the morning after, in the sullen, funereal wake of massed ass-ripping noise. Post ass-rip. There's your genre tag. Badly abused speakers smoked to shizzled fidelity, earholes blown out and incompatible with the vicinity- a muffled tinnitus-tinged haze of corroded memory and wall-to-wall vomit obscuring the distant door-pummeling of vengeful neighbors. At least I'll assume those are vengeful neighbors, could just be the incessant pounding in my skull. Everything sounds, determinedly, like shit, as though force fed along frayed wires of decayed machinery on the fritz on the fritz on the fri-

My first impression was of material confined entirely to the electronic. See for reference the first cut on the Hypostatic Ground 7inch. Acoustic sources, if there were any, would have had their edges worn away, leaving rubbished acousmics to fizzle through char-burnt static fields, stumbling over slow-cycling clumps of crumbling buzzzzkill. It would be hard in any case to hide in the thinly layered proceedings, continuously mutating through despondent dialog of scuff, drag, and whine. Limp, flaccid elec-shlongics. If your blood is pumping you must be doing it wrong. But the pacing suits the material, affording plenty of opportunity to explore the cratered terrain as it half rises and half falls, sinking up to the schnozzer in an atmosphere of implacable drab. Bumbling bees drunk on organosulphate wheeze lazily about in woozy half-circles, bumping into the side of the nest, kipping over backwards, legs swimming in the air, can't be fucked to report back let alone swarm. Buzzing drizzling sputtering smothering. Choked murmur, smudged bummer. The sound of playing dead. Over and over again. Wound up, loose, spooling out over warped warbling tapeheads in unreliable fits, blurts, farts. Repetitive consignment of terminal looped minimalism. Dirge-burgled butt huff. Post ass-rip.

Side B and a not inconsiderable effort to get it up. First, slow stuttered bi-planes lumber over dead calm pools of humdrum muttering stasis, taxiing through arid hangars as bits of machinery clunk off with each irregular jolt. Motors peter out, pings and plonks left faintly echoing in dingy space, scene set for the fat one. Rising out the decrepitude, a surge of inverted air-raid sirens initiates base-layered bevy of hard driven loop action. Midrange singe-tronics fill the field, taste of charburnt psychedelia, stench of ozone, almost exciting a good half mast's worth of determined downward thrust. Just as words like "heavy" and "dense" start to flesh out perspective, a decisive pulling of the plug. Yes, well... best not to overdo it I suppose. Then it gets rough. Dry, rasping scrape, white-flecked in roughened raw abrasion, no lube, almost explosive rupturing of shredded distortion, wayward needle dragging its way across 12-grit sandpaper itself subject to a feverish tearing into strips. Inevitably, distortions give way muzzled, growling, dirge-burgle, irate cycles of canine bleat-whine feed back and out, and rank and wrinkled miserables get dragged, worn and whimpering, to their sorry end.

edit
marginally de-tarded

[Decrepitude]

Entartun – s/t CD
OFR / Phosgen records
Collaboration between Scatmother and Yasuhito Fujinami dedicated to the aesthetics of vintage Japanese bondage, porn and exploitation cinema. Mixture between layered and full harsh noise tracks and in-your-face Power Electronics. Blending of the highly progressive and detailed Harsh Noise by Yasuhito Fujinami and the brutal and raw aspects known from previous Scatmother releases.

So what else needs to be said than quote label description? Well, Just to underline, this is what it really is. And what makes me like the release, is that electronics are well done. Ripping, loud and piercing, yet also with some innovation and most of all vivid feel of hands-on approach.

Of course I appreciate cold minimalist synth throbbing too, yet in recent years hear many many utterly lazy sonics in PE as well. Seemingly randon synth tone behind delayed vocals. It does get old quite quick if project just pushed one key down and keeps buzzing all the way through a track with zero interesting modulations or structures. Entartun is complete opposite. It is not totally free flowing harshness, yet also abandons too strict forms.

Typography could be tastier, but I like also the clean and sharp selection of images.  Played this couple times and appreciated! CD worth to grab!

I would be very interested in hearing this, but refuse to buy it since Mr. Fujinami has refused to send the records I bought from him nor answer any e-mails about it. I'm sure it's good though.

I've been playing the Citalopram Shunyata/Cremation Gospel tape on Gutter Disease a lot though, CS being the same guy who does Scatmother. Piercing electronic noise versus very ugly and primitive lo-fi noise. Short but pretty sweet. 

[Urban Noise]

Entartun – s/t CD
OFR / Phosgen records

Also got this from the label the other day. Great CD for sure!

[Bloated Slutbag]

Himukalt "Come October" tape (Found Remains) - similar to the Malignant LP but not quite as harsh. The first half of s1 & second half of s2 are the most intense. If I were to recommend a place to start based solely on the two most recent releases, I'd say go with the LP but this tape is no slouch. Plus you get a naked woman in the artwork, if that's your 'thing'. Anyone have the tape on No Rent they would trade? Or any of the previous releases? Shoot me a msg.

Enjoyed this twice on a long hike on the AT today. I might vote this over the LP honestly!

I might honestly vote with you on that! I like everything I've heard from the project and the Malignant could be the most "accomplished" to my ear... or just the most free ranging- eg good demonstration of the skills. But the atmosphere on CO is that much more focused and for that, for me, that much more intense.

Funny that this- the focus, intensity- would be brought home to me most immediately in the NWW cover (or "reinterpretation"). The relatively spare use of percussion throughout the album... kinda reminds of a holy grail version of "I Am No Longer His Dominant" I once heard on the radio, which combines the title track with bits of the heavy driving percussion of "Nil By Mouth". I searched high and low, gobbled up every NWW odd or end that I thought might have it, never found it, eventually decided it was just ingenious college radio dj having a go... but it was so well done I'd- still- readily believe it to be legit Stapletonese. Regardless of who is responsible in that one case, NWW was certainly capable of some pretty effective, grim, atmosphere and I think Himukalt totally taps into that.

[Yrjö-Koskinen]

It took well over a year, but finally there's a functioning vinyl player in my home again. Got me some backlog.

GRUNT - Myth of Blood (Freak Animal)
Had this for quite some time (in fact, I think it arrived shortly before the former vinyl player broke), yet haven't heard it until now. When compared to the latest Grunt release I heard, this year's  Castrate the Illusionist, this one took a slightly different path. Both albums contain material that is largely recognizable as everyone's favorite Power Electronics Finn, but the differences are also apparent. Where C.T.I. was almost Wagneresque - piling on huge amounts of different sounds and brutal vocals, this one is slightly more minimalist. There are simple, or perhaps rather clear, themes and ideas informing each track, usually in very interesting ways. Another way to put it would be to say that if Castrate the Illusionist is Grunt's Somewhere in Time, this is more Piece of Mind. A couple of compositions are slightly more run of the mill, mostly on the B-side, but they still get the job done. These songs consist of great sounding noise with competent FX-drenched shouting, but are not quite as interesting as "Black Flag" or "Interrogation Paranoia". Or as the entire A-side, really, which is all about instaclassics. "Linkola Legacy" is based around an awe-inspiring synth/bass line, that has a sort of irregularity to it which makes it difficult for me to understand if it's a loop or a live performance. Around this basic pattern, there are what sounds like slightly filtered feedback oscillations and - of course - classic Grunt vocals. Great track, great album. Stupid that it's been sitting (in an Allerseelen vinyl box, for whatever reason) for almost two years before finally getting a fair hearing.

This review was fueled by Saimaa Brewing Co's Pils Lager, 4,2% and Taffel's Waffel Sourcream & Black Pepper chips.

[Bloated Slutbag]

AGIT8 - I Crusader, No Retreat C20 (Cipher)
A friend told me to pick up this somewhat anonymous 2005 cassette. Bearing the terrible name for the project in mind, I was skeptic, but I trust his tastes. Thanks T! Sludgy heavy harsh noise in the old american way, yet not retro by any means. People say this way too often, I know, but this actually isn't that far from old Macronympha, and parts of Baroque and the the atmosphere on that one in particular comes to mind. Clunky metals, blown out shit squeez, split channel confusion, some modest cutupping and whatnot. It all sounds very hands on and live mixed, too. Some shorter more musical interludes in the form of dissonant organs and horror flick synths adds to the dynamics as well. Terrible cover art, and I've already mentioned the name, but who gives a crap. Excellent stuff! Is the rest of his stuff like this?

Man I have to apologize as I've nothing to add of informative interest. But just that this tape really made an impression at the time. In my excitement I spewed out a commentary that pretty much reiterates everything Baglady says... but takes up a bit more bandwidth.
http://www.iheartnoise.com/cipherproductions/sic17.html

Opens with
Agit8, where have you been all my perverted noiselife? and closes with
A fucking incredible piece of work.

So yeah, I was pretty floored. And stupidly I never followed up. I think I was slightly chased off by discogs descriptors referencing "breakcore". I'd be willing to wager the RRRecycled tape is more than worth it, as would be anything else in and abouts the period (2005). I can at least add that the original tape comes with a b-card cdr that features much more pe-ish structured heaviness, quite far from the tape but very good.

Actually I'd really like to know what happened with this guy. Would be a true shame if he's moved on to bigger and better things....

[Bloated Slutbag]

AGIT8 - I Crusader, No Retreat C20 (Cipher)
A friend told me to pick up this somewhat anonymous 2005 cassette. Bearing the terrible name for the project in mind, I was skeptic, but I trust his tastes. Thanks T! Sludgy heavy harsh noise in the old american way, yet not retro by any means. People say this way too often, I know, but this actually isn't that far from old Macronympha, and parts of Baroque and the the atmosphere on that one in particular comes to mind. Clunky metals, blown out shit squeez, split channel confusion, some modest cutupping and whatnot. It all sounds very hands on and live mixed, too. Some shorter more musical interludes in the form of dissonant organs and horror flick synths adds to the dynamics as well. Terrible cover art, and I've already mentioned the name, but who gives a crap. Excellent stuff! Is the rest of his stuff like this?

Man I have to apologize as I've nothing to add of informative interest. But just that this tape really made an impression at the time. In my excitement I spewed out a commentary that pretty much reiterates everything Baglady says... but takes up a bit more bandwidth.
http://www.iheartnoise.com/cipherproductions/sic17.html

Opens with
Agit8, where have you been all my perverted noiselife? and closes with
A fucking incredible piece of work.

So yeah, I was pretty floored. And stupidly I never followed up. I think I was slightly chased off by discogs descriptors referencing "breakcore". I'd be willing to wager the RRRecycled tape is more than worth it, as would be anything else in and abouts the period (2005). I can at least add that the original tape comes with a b-card cdr that features much more pe-ish structured heaviness, quite far from the tape but very good.

Actually I'd really like to know what happened with this guy. Would be a true shame if he's moved on to bigger and better things....

Found a few Agit8 comp submissions and damn... just very good stuff. Favorite appears on Solipsism-22 – Agit8 leads things off, with 11-minutes worth of pure, harsh, scorcher. Dialog of metal riffing and exceedingly severe, high-end, metal-on-metal, shriek. Complaints, none.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

"Linkola Legacy" is based around an awe-inspiring synth/bass line, that has a sort of irregularity to it which makes it difficult for me to understand if it's a loop or a live performance.

It is sound of internal feedback of one particular 4-tracker. So sound involves nothing but 4-tracker, line from headphone out to delay-pedal and back to input. Delay pedal having option for short loop and sound itself being result of turning pan & eq buttons of 4-tracker during intense internal feedback loop.
It is quite unique feature in that particular tracker, and none of my other analogue trackers, nor mixer provide so good and brutal internal feedback.

Same tracker and delay pedal was used for this Streicher cover song. No synth, no overdubbing, just 1 mic, 2 cables, delay pedal and 4 tracker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=besP6UMuUBU

That tracker is no longer in my possession. Should look into finding one. Anything recorded with it, sounds usually killer.

[Peterson]

Worth "The Steps" CS (New Forces, 2018)
        I'm pretty much in agreement with all the praise this has been getting for all it's unique character. The A-side had some moments I was going to compare to some of my favorite harsh noise standbys, but the B-side was surprising, dark, and gritty enough to warrant a better description. Manages to sound "Americanoise" without bringing to mind MSNP or Skin Crime. The more chopped, almost-fast cut-up sections are probably my highlight. Although I was a fan of Weak Sisters, this stuff is just fucking killer – very much "harsh noise" but still experimental music, doesn't fall into subgenre/subcultural trappings or references, which is a good thing. Seems to focus more on being grimy (even atmospheric; something far too much harsh noise lacks) than being super-harsh. Will definitely be one of my year-end favorites. Also really good for a rainy afternoon like today.

Cooter "Besmirched For Bedwetting" CS (WM, 2018)
        Simple electronic noise that has pretty good sound balance and in-your-face dynamics thanks to the loud dub, despite it's pretty limited pallette. Focus on high-end with little to zero bass, probably from one or two devices, "broken" stuttering textures. This has that youthful, intimate, embarassing and sexual feel (something I suspect that some holds more of the appeal than the sound itself with releases like this) which sounds appropriate for/intentional to the theme. There were recent post regarding some obscure "filth noise" US labels and although I wasn't really into a lot of those, I think this wouldn't be far off. This guy's duo PE project is so, so much better, but I doubt he's trying to reinvent the wheel here. I like this style of noise but it could use a lot more edits and layering, sort of like the recent Rotera B.A.G. tape on Total Black (which is ace, by the way; anyone reading check that one out). I like this, very "Leathersex," but I wouldn't listen often.

Mania/Deterge "Garrulous Opinion" CS (Fusty Cunt, 2018)
        We have Mania using Deterge's stuff as source material on side A. Frankly it just sounds like some of the simpler Mania tracks from a few years back in the opening movements – dark, grisly atmosphere and saturated, wet sound. I wouldn't have known about the source sounds unless you told me. Has some nice use of a pulsing/throbbing synth texture that recurs throughout, and a slow structure like the Bizarre Uproar sound of the past few years. Not crazy about the too-muffled junk acoustics early on in this piece, but to compare them to the Hal Hutchinson collaboration wouldn't be fair! Signature Mania feedback + vocals kick in after a point. Later acoustic parts are nice but this track seems to get stuck in the mud from compression/blow-outs that aren't my thing these days, could benefit from a better mix and me having better speakers.
        B-side is Deterge using Mania's sources. I don't really mind saying the first few seconds had me a bit more interested than the A-side. I've heard some less-than-generous comments about Deterge's vocal style, and I know what they're talking about now, but it's not bad for this electronics style (almost "death industrial") and reminds me a lot of Intrinsic Action and the more recent stuff from Eddie from Final Solution – very "punk." There's a more subdued, disturbing quality to this side and the acoustics used are just clatter, which is an approach I have a love-hate relationship with. Next is basically the oppposite, with nice huge banging bassy metal and some muffled, quiet delayed vocals. Background flange/chorus-effected high-end again brings to mind FS, never a bad thing. Definitely evokes the paranoia and sublimated attrition of living in America today. Now I think I get an idea of what's going on with Deterge. What I like is that the crunchy and clanking acoustics here were (obviously) recorded (very well) by someone else, which says a lot about this guy's overall sense of control. Reminds me of the Trucido stuff that MK9 did but with shoutier vocals. Would appreciate any recommendations for solid, representative albums by Deterge.
        Overall pretty good but could've benefited from better sound quality and a lyric sheet like the LP has, being that the subject here is important and yet you can't understand one word of the vocals. While they do achieve the "unique" atmosphere relating to the subject matter, the tape's sound doesn't reflect that in any immediate or obvious sense. This more than anything has me curious about checking out more Deterge and looking forward to the split LP.

Wonderland Club "Pageant" CS (IOPS, 2018)
        The layers of thought and source material that went into this rivals major sections of really any mid-period Sotos, and the opening sound collage is really something more PE projects should do. It's one thing to listen to N12's deliberately brooding, slimy sound, but this stuff has a viciousness that just makes the subject matter all the more vile, mostly because of the vocal style. Reminds me very much of the more composed "case history" material by Taint. This band has some of the most thought-through and well written/edited lyrics in contemporary PE, alongside maybe even Caligula031 or Koufar; considering the number of angles each project is getting at in representing its respective set of subjects is fairly impressive. Not my favorite material from the project so far, but not a step backward by any means. Not sure electronics are supposed to be the highlight point here, anyway – I almost think of this as spoken-word which happens to be delivered in a PE style/context. We do get really tasty"brittle" EDP Wasp-y textures and just enough reverb, anyway. B-side has slightly different lyrical approach and stronger sound, both in instrumentation and mix/master, for some reason (I would guess they were recorded/finished at different times). Excellent presence and enunciation of vocals – any/all US youngsters trying to do their own PE, listen to this and then decide if you really need to.

Duncan Harrison "Preamble to Nihil" (self-released, 2017?)
        Although the stuff I'd previously heard from this guy is now probably about a decade old, this stuff seems to have a representative uneasiness to it along with a nice attention to detail I remember from before ("Young Arms," maybe?). As far as the voice work, I find this kind of thing pretty amazing; Blackhumour would be proud. As for as the other sounds present, we get mostly subtly-manipulated field recordings in collage with a few loops. Pretty noisy, precise cut-up acoustics and effects later on. Since we're getting into territory where we can use terms like "sound poetry" etc here, I'll just say this is like a less-crude version of some of the stuff I've heard from No Intention and Good Area ("What's that?" "What's what?" "You can't hear that?" "Hear what?" "That noise!!"). Doesn't seem to take itself too seriously and I wouldn't really recommend this to the nasty crowd anyway unless you're like me and you literally like a little bit of everything – which this tape has, including a field recording of traditional Irish music and some questionable free "jazz." Definitely one of my favorites for this year; not for it's particular strength or uniqueness but for it's personal nature and the meticulous work that went into it.

Duncan Harrison & Karen Constance "Live At Coachwerks" CS (Sound Holes, ??)
        Obviously, a live collaboration between two artists, one I'm just beginning to get into, the latter I'm unfamiliar with. Will check her stuff out, though, as I like what I'm hearing here; pleasantly exotic musique concrete with a lot of live acoustics which brings to mind Derek Baron, Massimo Toniutti, and so on. A suprisingly diverse collection of acoustic and textural sounds, with some nice "industrial" touches and loud impact noises that I think serve as the "harsher" parts. Hard to say what's being generated live and what's being manipulated via tape. Disappointingly, it's single-sided.

Derek Baron "Harpist" CS (Pentiments, 2017)
        Bought this based off the description, as I'd seen work by the artist advertised but never really paid attention. Here, we get something a bit like the above, very pleasant but also moving and sensuous musique concrete, in which the metal debris seems to have an odd, almost melodic tonality to it. Again, brings to mind the lesser-known Toniutti brother, but that's sort of a simplistic comparison. There seem to be nice inclusions of field recordings, noiser textures, some reel-to-reel manipulations (I assume, anyway), and some interesting tones that I'm not sure whether they are brass, woodwind, feedback, or something else. The two side-long pieces manage to stay fairly interesting throughout but keep the mood a bit lighter than I'd prefer. This was apparently recorded in a variety of urban locations and that seems to jive with the whole vibe that Pentiments has going, sort of a stylish and sleek approach to whatever this kind of thing is. This guy also apparently has a recording of him playing Erik Satie tunes while his roommates bother him, available as an LP from Penultimate. Not sure about the format, but I'd like to hear that.

Leonard Cohen "I'm Your Man" (Columbia, 1988)
        Strange that I like this album so much while despising everything that came before it (especially his awful voice and "Hallelujah"). I guess it's really not all that strange considering he was 53, his voice was getting gravelly, and things were going downhill. I have a love-hate relationship with the cheesy '80s synth sound here, but it seems to work. Brings to mind the second Suicide album, with a little Tom Waits and Lou Reed thrown in. The album that followed it isn't bad either, but leans dangerously toward Randy Newman and Stevie Ray Vaughn at times.

[absoluten calfeutrail]

Duncan Harrison "Preamble to Nihil" (self-released, 2017?)
        Although the stuff I'd previously heard from this guy is now probably about a decade old, this stuff seems to have a representative uneasiness to it along with a nice attention to detail I remember from before ("Young Arms," maybe?). As far as the voice work, I find this kind of thing pretty amazing; Blackhumour would be proud. As for as the other sounds present, we get mostly subtly-manipulated field recordings in collage with a few loops. Pretty noisy, precise cut-up acoustics and effects later on. Since we're getting into territory where we can use terms like "sound poetry" etc here, I'll just say this is like a less-crude version of some of the stuff I've heard from No Intention and Good Area ("What's that?" "What's what?" "You can't hear that?" "Hear what?" "That noise!!"). Doesn't seem to take itself too seriously and I wouldn't really recommend this to the nasty crowd anyway unless you're like me and you literally like a little bit of everything – which this tape has, including a field recording of traditional Irish music and some questionable free "jazz." Definitely one of my favorites for this year; not for it's particular strength or uniqueness but for it's personal nature and the meticulous work that went into it.

I fucking love this tape. I'm doing an album for Duncan on Index Clean - should be out within the next couple of months or so.