This is the first release from new California based HNW label Absence Tapes, and the tape is presented with a really professional & distinctive look with the outside cover being sliver  metallic & black foil printed, the inside cove has pro printed text & there are pro printed black text on labels on the tapes. The front cover is a picture of cut wood filled valley with a small cabin in the distance and this nicely illustrates HNW’s over loading yet insolating tendencies.

Anyway onto the music with-in, on side one we have a twenty minute 'Untitled' track from Foul which finds you at first  being violently seared by the twin elements of: slightly whirling & swirling wall of static sea matter & battering rain tonalities. As the track progresses the thick and battering sea storm lashing rain tone takes centre stage with a constant raging storm of :lashing, hammering & wind ripping tones going on; yet there are still a few buckles & raisers in the sea like ‘walls’ expanse which gives the feeling off slow but steady movement of a wind battered ship. By the midway point the tones have joined into a more powerful and thick bounding wall of focused tone that’s best described as rushing meets slight boiling roll static thickness. All told it's an enjoyable track from Foul which is nice, thick & unforgiving like all of his work, though this track is quite active & shifting  in structure compared to some of his work.

Over to side B and we have the four tracks from HNW newcomer XSXCXEXBX. Up first we have a five minute  track entitled ‘Worth For Nothing’ this is made up of a tight yet aggravated juddering tone that XSXCXEXBX shifts between been quite a confined, closed & controlled, and more lose, ripping & random. Next is another five minute track that’s entitled ‘Struggle’ and this come in with a more roaring acid tinged water fire hose like attack that’s under ripped constant and circular rattle like static trail that grows and in the end matchers and overtakes the first tone. After this we have a three & a half minute track  called ‘Loss Of Hope’ which all about very jitter bound static matter with XSXCXEXBX using what could possible be some sort of harmonic or music based element to be jittered with as the tones seem to shift  often in quite a melodic and  harmoinc progressive manner. Then lastly we’re into ‘What Is The Use’ and this comes in at the six minute mark and it uses a similar roaring hose like tone to that of the ‘Struggle’ track but nicely adds in a turning cerement  mixing drum like feel to the ‘wall’.  As a whole side B shows off some interesting & rewarding takes on ‘wall’ making from XSXCXEXBX, though I’d quite like to hear what the project can do with a longer twenty minute plus wall.

So this is a impressively presented & well  put together first release from Absence Tapes with each side of tape offering up rewarding yet nasty examples of seared ‘wall’ making. I very much look forward to seeing & hearing the labels  future releases.