A friend of mine reviewed my 2 new releases.
Following hot on the heels of their debut album, Cedar Rapids, Iowa noise duo Men Behind the Sun have dropped an ambitious-yet-restrained EP titled Blade Meditations. While their debut, Everything Fails, was an explosion of nihilism, misanthropy, frustation, and rage, Blade Meditations is almost its inverse, a focused, honed exploration of their artform. To me, noise is the genre with the most limitless potential that is often squandered by intellectually lazy, childlike performers who sacrifice intent for volume and depth for shock value. Judging from their output, Men Behind the Sun feel the same way I do as they have put together an EP that perfectly captures the the strength of their subject matter and reflects the poise necessary to achieve such discipline.
This EP is a rare treasure in the genre of noise - something that is dignified and beautiful yet simultaneously uncompromising and raw. Blade Meditations is ascetic noise. With two very different releases coming in the span of two weeks, Men Behind the Sun have made a declaration of intent to the noise community: You're going to have to step up your game and you're going to have to sharpen your swords because we are setting the rules.
https://menbehindthesun.bandcamp.com/album/blade-meditations
