Top Bar
Musique Machine Logo Home ButtonReviews ButtonArticles ButtonBand Specials ButtonAbout Us Button
SearchGo Down
Search for  
With search mode in section(s)
And sort the results by
show articles written by  
 Review archive:  # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Merzbow - Merzbear [Important Records - 2007]

Merzbear throbs and purrs, chugs and pulses its way along. Coming off with almost a groovy and more rock related vibe running through the tracks, but fear not this is still very much in Merzbow territory.

Though on the surface this doesn’t seem to have much in common with the  previous  Merz pre-titled releasers on  Important, as there are no distinctive beats on display here, where the other titles tended towards  more approachable beat matter and conventional electronic edge. Instead each track is based around offten rhythmic  & repetitive slicing/chopping of the  EMS Sythi Pulses, which links with this to the others in the series. But unlike some tracks that have appeared on past Merz releasers, the tracks  here never become stale or stayed- he never just loops a similar sequence over and over again. Like the best Merzbow material he is building and changing the material from the base up.

Over the throbbing pulse base he adds on all manner of guitar and electronic matter be it; grinding, sawing, burning or improvised cluttering and clunking. These elements are mixed nicely in with the pulse base, instead of standing on top like some of his other groove based work. Really this  feels  like the prefect mix of his groove linked releasers and his recent return to analog equipment and  his interest in  improvised guitar work.

Though certainly this one of the best of the mixed Merz series & will please long term Merz devotees. I would have liked the tracks to last a little longer, the first two are under 10 minutes and the last two just over 15  minute mark. But I guess that’s the problem when he’s trying to build tracks around one pulse or noise groove

Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5

Roger Batty
Latest Reviews

Merzbow - Merzbear
Merzbear throbs and purrs, chugs and pulses its way along. Coming off with almost a groovy and more rock related vibe running through the tracks, but fear no...
100725   John Scott - Symptoms OST
100725   Torsofuck - Feasting On Carve...
100725   Dachra - Dachra(VOD)
100725   Transmission - Transmission( ...
100725   Up! - Up!( Blu Ray)
100725   Jack The Ripper - Jack The Ri...
090725   A Day At The Beach - A Day A...
090725   Iggor Cavalera / Shane Embury...
080725   Sebastian Tomb - Even in shi...
080725   Koobaatoo Asparagus - Trinity...
Latest Articles

Matthew Holmes - Of razor-sharp t...
It’s fair to say the Sharksploitation genre is often tried, tested, and to be honest, tired. Fear Below is a 2025 Australian film that tries to do some...
180625   Matthew Holmes - Of razor-sha...
280525   The Residents - Visits From T...
090525   Ennaytch - Of walls, abused ...
150425   Dead, Dead Swans interview - ...
110325   Sebastian Tomb - Walls of unb...
040225   Alien Sex Fiend - Possessed B...
231224   Best Of 2024 - Music, Sound &...
191224   Splintered - Somewhere Betwee...
031224   Shane Ryan-Reid - Coerced and...
221024   Whore’s Breath - life’s h...
Go Up
(c) Musique Machine 2001 -2025. Twenty four years of true independence!! Mail Us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=comBottom