Pain Jerk-Courtis — Pachinko Blast Anarchy
Pachinko Blast Anarchy is a relatively short, four track release (~35 mins), but manages to pack a ton of sound in during its brief run time. Opening with "Escape from Error," the boys give us a relatively calm, mix of unrecognizable guitar drone (I think? haha) and harsh, chaotic noise. The solid base drone provides a nice, thick layer for the chaos to play on top of. It's classic Pain Jerk on top, and it feels good. "Solar-Myth Radio" follows a pretty similar approach, but gets a bit gnarlier on the background end. While some of the noise blasts towards the end are vicious and awesome, the length of this one takes away from it a bit. Straying from low and harsh, "Pachisuro Burst" is lighter and a bit more psychedelic. Flanging, filtered cotton works along with almost carnival sounds to be the surface for glitchy, bubbling noise. Static screeches pulse in and out, and this one moves along like a noisy cartoon. Closing with "Welcome to Japargentina," Courtis and Pain Jerk work harsh and sparse. Moments of calm reveal tuning radio signals over low, fuzzy rumble. The harsh moments work well, and serve to make the calm even more quiet than it really is.
I will never get tired of classic Japanese harsh noise. Pain Jerk is one of the greats, and someone I sadly haven't heard as much of as I'd like. However, his live set on the 2007 No Fun Fest cd with Incapacitants is pure noise bliss. Pachinko Blast Anarchy, though, takes a different, more subtle approach. At times, it's brilliant and chaotic, and at others, calm and reserved. I really enjoyed it, overall, but wish it were a full on harsh attack. No matter, as it's a great listen.