Three new releases out now on Absurd Exposition.
BREAKING THE WILL - RUSHING WIRES CSAmong being one half of the harsh noise slasher duo ACTION/DISCIPLINE as well as the intimate field recorder KJOSTAD, Stefan Aune has been the figure behind the NEW FORCES label and zine for the past eight years. His ripping harsh-noise project BREAKING THE WILL has been alongside it from the get-go.
Active since 2010, BREAKING THE WILL has only recently entered the double-digit mark of a back catalog. A calculated no-nonsense approach of this nature is often missing in today's crop of noise artists. On this release the project continues to toe the line set by the preeminents of 90s/00s Japanoise: harsh static, rumble, crumble, shattered glass, piercing high-voltage feedback, rushing wires... but the cuts are less spastic than BTW's Japanese counterparts and the delivery becomes more severe when stripped of its clean nature and has the dirtiness of Americanoise applied to it.
BREAKING THE WILL is the American answer to PAIN JERK.
The project boasts splits with (North) American contemporaries such as AHLZAGAILZEHGUH, GNAWED, THE RITA and has seen releases on eminent labels like PHAGE TAPES and WHITE CENTIPEDE NOISE as well as on the relatively new imprint THOUSANDS OF DEAD GODS, not to mention the handful on NEW FORCES.
Aune knows what he is doing and it shows through the reserved execution of his projects and the aesthetic and efforts of his label. Hot off the heels of recent features in THE WIRE and SPECIAL INTERESTS magazines, and with an upcoming feature in the tell-it-as-it-is publication NOISE WIDOW, Stefan and NEW FORCES continue to make their mark and carry the torch for harsh noise in America.
C20. Edition of 101 copies pro-dubbed on matte black tapes.
This tape is an entry in Absurd Exposition's presently unofficial 'Foreign Policy' series.
https://absurdexposition.bandcamp.com/album/rushing-wiresLIMBS BIN - PURE PUNISHMENT CSWhen I received copies of the first LIMBS BIN 7" in the mail from Josh Landes back in 2012 I honestly wrote it off after one listen, although the closing track, a cover of 'Fix Me', would have fit nicely on the 'This is Good: A Tribute to Black Flag' compilation tape from 2010 (on which the tracks from CLIMAX DENIAL and PUSDRAINER far outshine the doom-heavy acts filling out the rest of the tape). Listening back to the aptly-titled 'Primitive Response' now, 6 years later, I can still see what turned me off of it: I'm not very into noisecore, grindcore, noisegrind or any further combination of the two, I'm not very into bleeps and bloops, and I used to instantly respond to any remark in regards to calling something 'power violence' with a very succinct "No, it's not." While the release isn't entirely comprised of all those aforementioned elements - pure harsh noise is present in the midst of it all - there is enough of them to bar my interest. However, I can also now see that even from the first release LIMBS BIN had a certain vision and focus which over the next 5 years would shape the project into something I became quite fond of by the time I tuned in again. It took the '18 Rack Demo' (Torn Light, 2017) to get me back into the game.
On '18 Rack...' there is no longer any sign of fumbling around, the drum machine has become firing power rather than a simple mechanism for beats, and Landes gets right into it with some longer extended tracks of incessant high-pitched feedback, at times holding only a thin, warbling line, assaulted with spastic low-end blasting and a barrage of vocals reminiscent of early BASTARD NOISE at times, albeit smothered in savage distortion. These lengthier tracks are where the project shines and serve to counterbalance the shorter, violent blasts of power which can perhaps be seen as the trademark of the project. LIMBS BIN undoubtedly takes influence from not only the masters of higher-frequencies and those responsible for the filthy, rumbling carnage that is 80s/90 Italo noise and 90s Americanoise, but also from units synonymous with a different side of "90s" "American" "noise" a la AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED and SUPPRESSION. Remember though, this is purely a one-man harsh noise crusade, not a band.
The two live recordings collected here showcase each side of the project. The A-side, recorded in February, is largely comprised of short blasts of chaos supplemented with incredible stage banter towards a joyous audience while the B-side, recorded in March, documents one long effort of THE RITA-Approved™ high-gain pleasure. Both sides were recorded direct from the board by yours truly in Montreal, QC. The digital version includes video documentation of both events (to be added on release date. For now, stream here:
bit.ly/2KV1vfG ).
True dedication and humble passion are not often found in this world. Landes embodies both. His wit and esteem are key elements in the LIMBS BIN effort. While I am a bit ashamed of not keeping up with this project throughout the years and thus not being able to hear its progression in real-time, I am mostly excited for what the future has in store for Josh as he makes his way into the annals of the underground as America's Second Greatest Living Noise Artist.
The debut LIMBS BIN LP, "One Happy World", drops next month on Torn Light Records.
C22. Edition of 102 copies pro-dubbed on matte black tapes.
This tape is an entry in Absurd Exposition's presently unofficial 'Foreign Policy' series.
https://absurdexposition.bandcamp.com/album/pure-punishmentTHE NAUSEA - REQUIEM AETERNAM CSAnju Singh has been the primary figure behind the Vancouver Noise Festival for the past seven years, the drummer and vocalist in long-running (and now nearing fully-realized) death metal band AHNA, and has held countless other roles in the punk, metal, and harsh noise scenes in Vancouver. THE NAUSEA has existed alongside all of this for the better part of a decade now. These six violin-based movements channel GYORGY LIGETI's works popularized in "2001: A Space Odyssey", and JOHNNY GREENWOOD's contemporary classical score for "There Will Be Blood", as they both ascend to levels of compositional clarity and descend into a cavernous, hellish nightmare populated by the harrowing voices of the dead and the dying. Similarities can be drawn to JASON LESCALLEET's epic "The Pilgrim" as the crescendo of harsh noise begins to decay. Death is the ultimate theme at play here. A long-awaited debut release from a figure instrumental in maintaining Vancouver's integrity in the harsh noise scene and beyond.
C28. Second edition of 50 copies pro-dubbed on matte black tapes.
https://absurdexposition.bandcamp.com/album/requiem-aeternamhttp://absurdexposition.bandcamp.comhttp://www.screamandwrithe.comContact for trades/wholesale.
Forthcoming releases from:
CAGES
COASTAL
FRACTURE / MOLENA
MASS MARRIAGE
NYON
TASKMASTER
K.M. TOEPFER
WOOD & METAL
Select current and previous titles available from the following distributors:
Analog Worship (USA)
Anthems of the Undesirable (USA)
Cavity Curiosity Shop (Canada)
Disclosures Label (USA)
[...]dotsmark (Japan)
Faith/Void (Canada)
Found Remains (USA)
FTAM (USA)
Freak Animal (Finland)
Iron Lung Records (USA)
Iron Scourge (Belgium)
Madriguera (Puerto Rico)
Malignant (USA)
Nil By Mouth (Italy)
RRRecords (USA)
Self Abuse (USA)
SuperFi (UK)
Terror (Lithuania)
Total Black (Germany)
Tour de Garde (Canada)
Unrest Productions (UK)
Vanity Recordings (USA)
