Figures Of Solitude — I’m So Lonely I Could Die
The two tape case come connected together by a strip of thin card that features the projects name on a grey background. The tapes covers features bleak grey ‘n’ white pictures of tower blocks at night-time- and of course these nicely enhance the bleak, hopeless & oppressive sonic walls with-in.
Each of the four sides of tape is taken up by a single lengthy slice of HNW- each track is untitled & each track is unforgiving & bleak battering as each other. The first side of tape one is taken-up by a track that is built around a dense rumbling ‘n’ roasting ‘wall’ that rages & sears along at slow to mid pace. The track brings to my mind something huge slowly, but surely tearing or burrowing through thick ‘n’ dense earth ‘n’ rock; and just bellow said rock/earth is the slow rumbling billow of a distant subterranean stream, that’s never seen the light of day. The ‘wall’ remains fairly fixed & unmoving in it’s feel, through from time to time there’s some nice crusty/ galloping judders ‘n’ jitters added to the outer layer of the ‘wall’, these seem to become a bit more constant towards the latter part of the track
Tape ones second side ‘wall’ is a mixture of very nasty ‘n’ head grating deep bass juddering ‘n’ fixed billowing that’s ribbed by this stark line of jittering grey static. This track really creates a deeply pained & oppressive feeling- it’s like the tracks bleakness is continual sliding into head your, as it’s seemingly pouring ‘n’ sliding like suffocating tar out of your speakers. This track feels a little more urgent than the first sides track, and the pace is upped a little too to a more mid pace affair, yet at times it almost feels like it’s starting to slow & harden on the ‘walls’ upper layer, and there’s also a few sudden & jarring billows, though it never really dips in it's momentum or unrelenting pace.
Onto tape two, and the first sides ‘wall’ brings together roar ‘n’ roasting bass grazed noise that’s weaved with more juddering & scraping static tonilty. This track seems to upper the pace once more from the other two tracks, and it rolls/sears along at a mid to fast pace. This side stands as one of my least favourite tracks here, as it seems to lack that all important addictive ‘wall’ feeling, so I found my attention starting to drift after around the tracks mid-way point.
So lastly we have the track on the second side of tape two, and this ‘wall’ is built around a mid to fast paced bass rumble & jitter that’s underfed by a distant billowing tone- again it’s deeply nasty & oppressive in it’s feel. This track has a more urgent & battering feel about it then the first side of tape two, it’s also a lot more captivating in it’s feel & I found myself hooked into the track right till it’s end.
All told this release offers up four bleak, pained & unstoppable slices of bass bound walled noise- it’s certainly a deeply battering & unrelenting 90 minute ride, though I felt similar tones & noise pitchers were used on all four tracks, which at times made this a little too samey in places. Not my favourite of Mr Skrobek release/ projects, but if your after bleak, nasty & total hopeless bass bound walled noise this is worth a look.