Crawling Yeast/ I Watched You Die — Split
This release comes in an edition of 12 copies- I can’t comment on the packaging, as I’m reviewing a digital promo of the release- but if past releases on the Breaching Static are any indication it’ll be fairly typical underground wall noise presentation- i.e. monochrome covers in a thin CD case or slip sleeve.
So first up on disc one we have the Crawling Yeast track-as far as I can gather from discogs the project started in 2016, and this is only the projects second release. Behind the project is one Dan Bell- he runs the Structures With Out Purpose label, and is also in the project Culled( with Eric Witt). The track offered up here is entitled “Non-Person”- it opens with a fairly simply-yet appealing ‘wall’ built around blown-out & grinding low-end churn, which is bayed by thinner skitter, slight cascading static. Over the next twenty or so minutes we have the occasional get micro break in the flow, which are slightly annoying, but not enough to totally throw you out of the noise- also the churn shifts to a more galloping feel. At just past the twenty-five-minute mark we get this really awkward sounding glitch/ sustain in the ‘walls’ flow- this must last only around ten or so seconds, but I’m afraid I found it most jarring & ham-fisted- totally pulling me out of the ‘wall’ trance. After this the track seems to become a lot more roughshod & messy in its structure- blending together raging low-end billowing, with hacking ‘n’ lose descents- it all just feels a bit too shapeless & messy to me. Later on, in the track around the forty-three-minute mark we get another awkward sustain, but really by that point, I’d become bored by the whole thing. I’m afraid for me this track started off well, then sadly lost its way- it just felt too lose & too haphazard- all lacking any real wall-noise skill.
Moving onto the second disc, and we have I watched You Die. This is one of the projects of long-time noise scenester- Alex Nowacki, whose most known project is Boar which has been active since 2008. The I Watched You Die started in 2011 as low-end focused walled-noise, the project released around 13 releases between 2011 & 2015, so this track is the project first material for three or so years.
The track on offer her is entitled “Survival instinct”- and from the outset, you can clearly hear that Nowacki has much more control, depth & quality to his noise craft- I guess you’d say what we have here is fairly moody, brutal, yet subtle shifting wall-craft. The track opens with a fairly atmospheric blend of low-end rolling drone & hack ‘n’ jittering descents of static patter-nation. By around the two minute, this nicely controlled swirling ‘n’ searing texture has appeared, and Nowacki skillful blends and morphs this into the slow dying low-end drone. As the track progresses we shift to new ‘walls’- both subtle, and suddenly- but these are never done badly, & they are always perfect executed with flair, control & understand of wall-making. I won’t go onto detail ever shift & move within the hour-long track, but through-out it kept me firmly locked in.
So, in conclusion, this is a most uneven split- with Crawling Yeast track offering up very haphazard & often muddled stab at wall-matter. Alongside the cleverly controlled & expertly altering wall-craft of I Watched You Die. It’s certainly great to hear new wall-work from IWYD, but I don’t think I’ll be investigating Crawling Yeasts other or future work.