Ramleh - Valediction [Secound Layer Records - 2009]Valediction is somewhat of a comeback album from this uk based original early 1980’s noise, noise rock & power electronics project- as this is their first full length album since the 1997 album Boeing . As a whole the album has a very claustrophobic, intense & sometimes raging or drifting troubled feel about it with it’s thick & muffled mixture of :swampy to fiery electro noise tones, blacked guitar noise vistas & often buried male vocals that sound like their coming from hell’s fiery pits. The album consists of six unnamed tracks that often leak, drift, grow or Pound into each other in this pained, noisy & sometimes tar black psychedelic manner. Most of the album is fairly slow paced, intensely brooding & murky in it’s feel with the pace only really picking up towards the end when it turns into thumping & wavering punk noise attack under a thick layer of feed back buzz. Certainly not for those looking for an all out noise or power electronics attack as there’s elements of murky ambience, black guitar texturing & general intense yet sometimes harmonic bound experimentation going on here. Valediction is an album you have to live with for a while to let it soak it’s disturbing ebb & flow into you body; there's certainty some very interesting ideas & elements through-out the album. Though I can’t say I too fussed about more punk groove that appears towards the end even if it is under a ton of noise grain. Roger Batty
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