{ } — Open The Faucet

{ } is a recent addition to the world wide HNW scene , and like a few artists with-in this scene, there is much mystery behind it- so it’s location, origin & personal make-up are all unknown. Open The Faucet is the projects first release, and it comes in the form of a C30 tape- that features two side long tracks. The project brands it’s take on walled noise as ‘Cold Electrocution Static’, but I think it’s best to describe what’s on offer here as (mainly) fixed, dense & brutalizing HNW.

By all accounts this release is themed around the use of Mustard Gas in WW1. And the fold out pro printed B&W sleeve takes in pictures of soldiers in gas masks, and on its reverse a barren mustard gas engulfed landscape.

So on side A we have the track “Thiodiglycol”( which is one of the chemicals in mustard gas). This track is built around a mix of two taut  ‘n’ rapid jittering/juddering textures- these are weaved together to create this constricting & suffocating 'wall'. We have a low-end ripping like texture, and a thinner muffled low-to-mid range texture. Structure wise both of these elements remain firm & fixed through-out the track, through they do seem to get a little bit more rapid in their attack mid-way, then slow down towards the end...but of course this could just be ones imagination.

And over on side B we have the track “Hydrochloric Acid”. And this track slows the rapid pace of the first track to a more mid-pace mixture of murky 'n' rumbling lows, and spinning wheel like jittering mid’s.  I really like the low-end element here, as it's got a great sort of muddy & bubbling quantity to it, which adds a nice sort of murky foreboding feel to the proceedings. Structure wise this seems much more set in it’s pace & focus, and it really feels like its set firm through-out.  I’d say this is my favourite of the two tracks here, because of the rewarding low-end, & also I felt more entranced by the 'wall' all round.

All told this is a satisfying enough debut release from { }, with both of the ‘walls’ been rewarding if not particular ground-break or original. So I look forward to hearing what the project does next, and see if they build on the promise of this first release.