Borbetomagus — Snuff Jazz

Snuff Jazz is another unforgiving, deeply searing and caustic slice of noise/ jazz attack from the inventors and masters of the form Borbetomagus. The disk finds them making some of their most grating, punishing and sonic acid tinged work yet; that’s head boil yet wonderful invigorating too.

Snuff Jazz was originally put out in 1988 and became a firm favourite with many noise heads and it’s very easy to see why; trust me turn this baby up to full & I guarantee your ears will shudder & pop, as your eyes start watering. For this disk Borbetomagus are a three piece with Jim Sauter & Don Dietrich on Saxes & Donald Miller on guitar. This reissue adds in two extra tracks which are sandwich between the two original tracks that filled up either side of the albums original vinyl release back in 1988. And through both the bonus tracks are enjoy and caustic in their own right; there not quite up their with the Snuff jazz tracks for sheer caustic un- forgivingness.

So on to the really noise nirvana the original Snuff jazz tracks; first up we have the track ABC which slides in like a red hot knife into your head with joint acidic honks from Sauter & Dietrich that are under sailed by sadistic guitar abuse by Miller. The track just seems to get more piecing, airless and brutal as it goes on; you keep thinking surely they can’t make this any more searing and painful- but they keep push and push the noise level up and up to the point were you think your ears & mind won’t be able to take any more, as more and more red hot honks seem to jab into you from all around. You really feel breathless and beaten by the end of the near on 17 minute track. Then at the other end of the disk we have the track DC; which starts off possible a little less drilling and open than ABC. The burning honks and screams of the saxes and feedback grain of the guitar seem more open to start with; but as it goes on things get more torturers and ear bleeding as the three piece thrown one sharp and painful tone at you after another- it’s just done in a more slowed down and stretched manner than ABC.

Snuff Jazz has fast become my second favourite Borbetomagus album after the unbeatable Live in Allentown. Truly if you like noise and jazz and you’ve not heard Borbetomagus  yet -there’s something very wrong. So do yourself a painful (yet enjoyable) favour and pick up both this & live In Allentown. To find out more drop in here