Fuck Patrol — Courtship Disorder
The disc has one long track of harsh noise. It kicks off with a sample of one man enquiring as to the possibility of another man coming again, then the hammer drops and the noise jolts in. Immediately the listener is plunged into a surging wall of low-mid frequency noise, with moaning bass and buried elements which sound junk-y at one point, then ethereal the next. Buckets have this similar quality when struck or thrown about: metallic clanging, but also more resonant tones - presumably from the bucket amplifying its own sounds. These buried sounds take on an increasingly mysterious nature, almost like a ghostly cheer; and they appear with more and more frequency, becoming an integral part of the overall sound, rather than a mere detail. The churning low-end does dominate overall proceedings, but from time to time the crackling treble raises its head above the surface. Its only about halfway through that these treble frequencies finally come out to play, smashing in waves against the low-mid foundation. From here on, the track does noticeably increase in intensity; until, by the end, the bass is really pressurising the wall of noise. The twenty-six minute track climaxes with another sample, that answers the question set up by the first sample.
This is a fine piece of harsh noise, but one that straddles the line with HNW. It clearly displays HNW’s preoccupation and care with texture; and, indeed, whilst there is change and movement, that change and movement is all within quite restricted parameters. Its a very immersive recording, with the brain looking behind and below the blizzard of the mid-frequencies to find other things - and find things it does. During the course of “Courtship Disorder”, I could hear: voices, someone thrashing about in the background, ghostly synth tones and someone singing to themselves (sometimes a playful child, sometimes an elderly woman with dwindling cognitive abilities). Its almost like standing before a waterfall, with persons unknown committing acts unknown behind it… Hopefully theres a lot more to come from Fuck Patrol.