Borbetomagus — Sauter,Dietrich,Miller,Doherty

After been rather taken (and fried) by the relatively recent reissue of Live in Allentown Borbetomagus searing live album from 86. I was most egger to hear some more of their noise/jazz/ improv sound mix & This is their debut album from 1980 reissued in 95 and through it’s not as wall like and noisy in its sound as Allentown it’s still very rewarding in its own often searing and atmospheric way.

The original album was split up into five numbered tracks with the pre-fix of Concordat to each, with an extra unreleshed track been added to the reissue entitled the Last Concordat that was rescued from tape decay from the same session as the rest of the album. The mood through out the album is quite 80’s- but not in a bad way- it’s has this grim and grey atmosphere that certainly feels like it’s tinted by industrial and edgy post punk. With violent yet homed guitar tone and electronic elements meshing together to make an atmospheric and sometimes grimly harmonic backbone to which the joint sax attack of  Don Dietrich and Jim Sauter is added. Through this certainly is not dated in anyway take Concordat 5 with it’s brooding and grim guitar chug, tape elements and searing sax’s honks and burns-it could easily have come from Wolf Eyes more jazz/noise side of their sound.

A caustic yet greyly atmospheric and edgy debut album- that barely shows its age. Really if you enjoy noise and jazz, you really have to ask your self why you haven’t already got this.