Over — Self Titled

So the story goes, Connecticut’s NoVisible Scars, a DIY label that peddles in severly limited extreme metal and noise cassettes, received an unsolicited CDr through the post in late 2009 from a previous customer hoping to be considered for release. It was accompanied by a single Polaroid picture of bed in an otherwise unfurnished room. The contents of the disk were very minimal: for almost 15 minutes a single bleak, lo-fi synth wave extends and pulsates broodingly while a male American voice slowly describes short episodes from his childhood that include sharing sexual experiences with his brother in the attic room of his grandparents’ house – presumably the one depicted on the Polaroid. The label pondered its release for a year and finally decided to make 25 copies available.

The qualities of the sounds on this cassette place it firmly in an old-school industrial vein. Like countless tracks before it a taboo subject is frankly conversed over cold electronics. But the key difference with ‘Over’ is that the voice incorporated does not seem to be sourced from exploitative television documentaries or late night chat radio shows designed to appeal to the prurience of its public, rather it is, more simply, a self-confession.

The voice is clearly distressed with occasional sobbing and is not presented clearly in the minimal mix, perhaps by design as it encourages concentration to fully grasp each word as they slowly form their few regretful memories.

Before releasing it the label asked for more information on the track and got the answer "I'm OVER it, the events that took place and what I described, I needed to get these things off my chest". Whilst it’s understandable and reassuring that this cathartic exercise helped its creator to an extent, it’s unclear what the rest of us are supposed to do with it. Of course, a genuinely unsettling feeling is achieved, particularly upon initial inspection as events first become clear and you hear how much the speaker hates his brother as a consequence, but it’s not the more lascivious episodes that unsettle the most, it’s the highly personal and intimate nature of the admissions.