Here are today's latest reviews. As always I am working from a layman/fan perspective and try to steer clear of trying to encapsulate philosophy, compositional techniques, or gear choices. I listen to music in the same way I look at art, I attempt to take it in and note the feeling that it evokes in me. The great thing about art is that there is no right or wrong, only what you feel. This logic must be applied equally to creator and consumer, because the artist must be moved by the experience of the process by which they create ideas. If the artist is moved then it would stand to reason that the consumer too will be moved in some way; good or bad.
This "movement" is a synthesis of the entire nervous system, eyes, ears, smell, taste, touch. These senses work in tandem to create an emotional state. These emotional states can be both pleasant and unpleasant. These responses are what I look for when I listen to anything, especially when I am attempting to review stuff. So from a technical perspective, I may be off the mark, but emotionally I feel pretty much right on the mark. Not sure where I am going with all this but this may bear closer examination in greater length in the future. In the meantime, if you like what you read and want some stuff of yours reviewed by yours truly please drop me a line at witchkunt@gmail.com
Coming up tomorrow: Reviews from White Gold, C.C.C.C., Black Sand Desert and a start to my mega stack of tapes that are now officially backed up. Fuck.
Cheers. Gene Symptoms.
Taklamakan Vs. Umpio / Interaxion Venenosa / CD / White
Centipede Noise + Narcolepsia
A prime example of grimy electronic wreckage on this 2-track
heap of audio violence. A collaboration
of sorts between Taklamakan from Croatia and Umpio from Finland where each artist takes turns running the
show. I would never dare try to interpret
their process but suffice it to say that their methodology makes for stunning
results. Each track is a hefty 19
minutes of filthy, rusty, greasy clanging, banging, toppling, and throttling
chaos. Red hot metals clashing with
frantic chains, oil drums getting knocked over, toolbox dumped out on your
head, army helmets dented in with baseball bats. Whatever tricks and methods are getting
utilized are being done so with powerful results.
While these pieces seem to follow the same general
schematics, there are some definite shifts in gears in terms of intensity, spacing
and texture. While track 2 “Huesos
Molidos” presents to be the more intense composition overall, track 1 “Cenizas
Y Acidos” is also littered with a filthy identity all its own. What makes this disc great is that it does
not “feel” long. Sometimes a 20 minute
piece can really be a trying experience if left in the wrong hands, with two 20
minute tracks seeming even more of a chore.
However, with these 2 artists at the helm, the tracks are nicely paced
with plenty of movement which makes the overall listening experience a
pleasurable one.
This album is very strong and definitely deserving of its
reissue on White Centipede Noise. If you
missed this one the first time around way back in 2014, here is your chance to
get wrecked properly. This is incredibly
strong material and definitely worth your time. Go check out www.narcolepsiahn.wordpress.com for more excursions into the junk zone.
Shredded Nerve / Acts of Betrayal / CD / Chondritic Sound
Haunted, unsettling, diseased, and
seriously powerful art is what is on offer here from New York based artist
Shredded Nerve’s latest release. There
are 8 compositions on here which melds a lot of different worlds together into
a seamless, cohesive, and jarring listen.
Gritty field recordings, jugular slicing harsh jags, harrowing drones,
and monolithic crud jams; it is all here, and it is all lethal.
It is truly difficult to put this
album into words because it treads so much territory and does so with great
efficiency. “Acts of Betrayal” is a work
which presents to come from hours of perfecting the delivery and not settling
on anything other than a glorious yet ominous smothering. There are moments where you get lulled into a
false sense of security and then you get overwhelmed. This theme repeats itself several times across
the album and it is always thrilling.
That feeling of knowing that you are about to get consumed by grimness
and by the time you realize it, it is too late.
Another thing that I find endearing
about this album is how each track seamlessly moves to the next, no breaks, and
no time to consider what might be coming next.
It all works together, just as each track works on its own. Beautifully crafted perfection. This one should be in your library without a
doubt as it is about as flawless as it gets.
This is what is called upping the ante kids, get with it.
The Cherry Point / Live Hell / CD / Helicopter + Troniks
The Helicopter and Troniks team up
keeps on dishing up the hard goods for the noise freaks. “Live Hell” is a 3-track harsh noise pummeling
straight from the live files of The Cherry Point. So, for those of you who know, you already
know what you are getting with this live outing. For the uninitiated, you are in for a thorough
mugging, plain and simple.
The question becomes what is the
difference between The Cherry Point live as opposed to on recordings? Well the first thing that I notice is that
these live tracks are not tinder dry, they are filling up the spaces in which each
performance took place, you can hear the bounce off the walls. In short, these sound live and you can
totally feel it.
The first 2 tracks are The Cherry
Point coaxing out some ugly broken lows laced with butt blistering mid-range
crumble, all delivered in the classic Cherry Point way, deliberate and intended
to hurt your feelings. Track 3 is a live
collaboration The Rita and of course, as you would expect, it is seriously thick
and deep fried as you like it. If you
are a fan, then I know you already did the right thing and got in on this one
right way. If you have not, then I
suggest you get this because it is a fun ride, albeit a little bit bumpy.
Richard Ramirez / Bleeding Headwound / CD / Old Europa Café
Some
primitive, pedal torture from harsh noise specialist Richard Ramirez. This feels so goddamned live, almost like a
demo. Not sure when this was recorded but
it sounds and feels old, and I mean that in the best sort of way. This has that sweet vibe of being recorded in
a high school gym with no one else in it, so much echo, so much distance.
Track one “Atomic Distortion”
points the way with jagged paint stripping peals of hi end interspersed with
full speed ahead hit and run jet blasts of crushing bottom end. Tons of stop starts lend to the unpredictability
of the piece, giving it that slam on the brakes before you hit the bus head on
vibe. Then eventually it gives way to rancid
gusts of hot death. This track is
lengthy but the distance and obscurity gives this a little something extra.
The second track “Left Eye” is like
a minefield of crushing explosions appearing at random. Whispy reverberations laced with gas leak
spittle are only rivaled by the sound of bad outlets and freewheeling electricity. Vomiting sonar waves trade off with forlorn
crackle as the distance fills up the space where the oxygen used to be. This one is another long trip through the shitty
part of town. Listen to the boxcars groan
under the weight of broken human cargo.
Strangely, track 3 “Spinal
Amputation” is not its own track but rather seems to be a part of track 2. I took the disc out and replaced it and sure enough
it only displays 2 tracks. This would explain
why track 2 seems so incredibly long.
This of course does not detract from my enjoyment of this album in the slightest. Is there better Richard Ramirez stuff out
there? Probably and probably not, the man has such an expansive discography
that you could pretty much start anywhere and get off proper. This one has a great vibe that makes it feel
like a long-lost gem from the demo era.
Robert Turman / Beyond Painting / CD / Chondritic Sound
Robert Turman has been around for a
good long while and his discography is pretty thick but I really have to believe
that “Beyond Painting” is a jewel in his crown. I will admit to not being super well versed on
his work apart from reviewing his split with Aaron Dilloway way back in the Witch
Kunt print zine days. I was enamored
with his work then, but this is really something extraordinary.
Considerably far removed from the
harsh walls and pedal abuse of so many artists out there, Robert Turman is a
composer of the highest order. The
compositions on “Beyond Painting” are a wonderfully expansive and powerful
listen. Depressive symphonic drones are
the key element here but it really is something far beyond that. Note selection, the waves they emote, the
holding, the releasing, allows each track to move at a majestic yet glacial
pace. There are guitars and bass hidden
amongst the drowsy sunrise/sunset/solstice movements, everything has a place as
there is plenty of room for intensity to settle in like a fog. This is not an artist trying, this is an
artist mastering, emoting, and pouring out the insides of himself.
A point of interest for me is how
the artwork which adorns the cover of this album “Living Room Painting, In
Essence” is also the handiwork of Mr. Turman.
This artwork compliments the aural contents perfectly, it gives color
and emotional meaning to what you are hearing.
I truly feel that this is a perfect synthesis of two completely
different, yet not so different mediums.
Is it noise? No not at all, we are
way past that now. What is on offer here
is extraordinary ambient soundscapes that reach into you and grab ahold. This is music for a soundtrack to a movie
that does not exist yet should. According
to the liner notes, these compositions were copyrighted in 1990 with an initial
release on Actual Tapes in 2010. Now
with this Chondritic Sound reissue coming in 2020, it feels like now is the
perfect time for this album. Bleak and
beautiful just like modern existence. It
speaks a language all its own. I cannot
recommend this highly enough as it is a truly extraordinary piece of work that
will yield rewards with each successive listen.
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