Anonymous Masturbaudioum — Submissionem Nylon

Here’s a tape from Ominous Recordings; 60 minutes of harsh noise walls, presented on a purple tape. The inlay, as you might guess from the project name, and title, is a close up of some legs, clad in stockings, and bound at the ankle. Anonymous Masturbaudioum gives us two long tracks of obliterated walls, Untitled I, and Untitled II.

The first of these begins with a really blown-out wall: hesitant, jerky bass, and hollow fizz. These elements buffet in the wind, constantly moving, until they settle down a little, into a more static sound. The wall is stereo split, and stuttering; it’s like sonic sandpaper, but it retains a hollow feel, stopping it from becoming a savage assault. Around the 12 minute mark, the treble elements gain in strength, and movement, before the bass sections of the wall resurge near the halfway point. This, perhaps, sets the tone for the remainder of the track: a tussle between the hard bass, and kinetic high-mid and treble. These two opponents clash to create a lot of very fine sections and textures - too many to detail, and anyway, you should listen to it, not read my descriptions - with dynamics, and movement, that even push into harsh noise territory. It’s a really fine, vigorous exploration of wall noise.

Untitled II is founded around the same actors as the second half of its predecessor, but is more restrained in its movement, giving it more of a static feel. The bass here is overbearing at points, almost attaining that ‘plastic’ sound which isn’t agreeable to me. However, treble crackle dances increasingly over the top, and eventually smothers it in a nice blanket. Whilst the shifts and developments aren’t as obvious as in Untitled I, they still occur in Untitled II, but the mood here is more ominous, and concentrated. To use the tape cover as a metaphor, Untitled II is Untitled I bound. Near the very end of the piece, the treble loosens these bonds, and stutters into loud life.

This is a really great release. The second half of the first track was quite unexpected, almost nonchalantly spitting out great textures. Untitled II is just as assured, but takes a more slow-burning approach to the sounds, and atmosphere. Put together, there really should be something here for everyone - as cliched as that sounds! So, I heartily recommend this to all HNW-ers, and its still available from the label, so do support!