Cementimental/Fist Taker/Second Thought — Split

This three way split finds three UK based noise projects trying their hands at Harsh Noise wall- to mixed but sometimes rewarding results. This also seems to be the first HNW releases on uk based Jerky Oats Records who usually offer up  on their releases a mixture of noise, ambience, more noise bound electroncia, and other experimental and noisy based sonics.

First off lets talk about the packaging which is sadly very sparse, bland and ltd to say the least. The cdr comes in a black 'n' blank digipak with no mention of whose involved or any attempt at artwork …sure this look can work sometimes, but here it just looks cheap and like the label couldn’t be bothered. Inside the digipak we have a photocopied one sided sheet of white A4 paper that is covered by mainly newspaper ‘n’ porn college- which is rather uninspired. Underneath this a basic n' short track listing and web links, ect!. Really this type of  artwork/packaging (or lack of it) would have been semi expectable back in the 80’s  or before, when people didn’t have access to PC ’s but in this day and age it just looks shoddy and like the label does not care about the release.

Anyway enough moaning about the packaging, lets get down to the sounds inside. First up we a near on twenty five minute track from Cementimental- their a project who have been active in noise circles since the early 00’s, and have released a fairly varied selection of releases that have gone from: ugly synth feedback, sound collages, crunchy analogue noise scapes, circuit-bending meets instrumental  to hip-hop, ambient weirdness, cod death metal, and lo-fi slugging doom punk. I think this track is the projects first foray into the HNW form, and to be honest it does show. As while it’s not terrible or un -listenable it’s just a little unremarkable and run-of- the-mill slice of HNW really. The tracks entitled “Shrunkards Alving Diserable Barbellularithment” and it’s basically a mid-paced judder bounded  ‘wall’ that’s weaved with jitter static tonality…as  I’ve said it’s ok, but  it just rather lacks it’s own sound and identity, and in a scene like the HNW scene where there’s seemingly a new release  out every few weeks you’ve got to stand out and sadly this doesn’t.

Up next we have another lengthy near on thirty minute track from a project called Fist Taker- who I can’t seem to find much about, and seemingly this is the projects first release. The tracks entitled “Southern Hospitality” and this starts out with into a few seconds of lo-fi stop clock like buzzing before droping nicely into a mix of :low fi-fan belt slipping grating, and frosty but tight static noise grain- which are under fed by slight gentle judders that grow and become more electro bound as the track progresses. It’s a great ‘wall’ and mix of noise tones which keeps you hooked through the whole track.

Up lastly we have one long and two shorter tracks from Second Thought- whose another project who've been in existence since the early 00’s and have seemingly released a wind range of different sounding stuff going from: ambient soundscapes, IDM and techno, harsh noise ect.  The three tracks are entitled “George Osborne Being Ground Into Mechanically Separated Meat Part 1 to 3” (for none uk readers and those who care little about uk politics George Osborne is our present Chancellor of the Exchequer).

“Part one” is the longest track at just under 13 minutes, and  it finds this washed-out, slightly choral and english sounding harmonic bit of music being judder ‘n’ jittered the hell out of. It’s ok I guess, but I’m not really sure I’d call it HNW or textured wall noise as there seems to much harmonics connected with it. “Part two” is a galloping and thick mix of buried ‘n’ throbbing dance meets punk bass lines, and rolling nasty noise tones, again it’s ok….but it’s not really HNW. And lastly we have “Part three” which I guess is the most HNW or static textured of the lot as it features banks of jittering static tone; but sadly it also has these proton industrial meets phasing  electroincia judders running through it that real sound naff  and this tracks over in just under the two and a half minute mark too.

So in finishing off it’s good to see none HNW labels putting out HNW releases such this, as it shows the genres growing out of it’s niche into the wider noise and experimental sound-making scene. It’s just a pity that’s there’s only one really great track here, one passable if unremarkable track, and three just ok efforts that really are not HNW.