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

Uitgeschakeld - Crumbles and Waves [Lurker Bias/Neon Wall - 2016]

Here’s another tape from Lurker Bias’ Neon Wall series, and again, I’m reviewing a digital version. The tape has two tracks, both exactly 15:54 minutes long, and an inlay cover of an abstract, pixellated design. The pieces are titled Crumbles and Waves, and The Organ Shrieks; both of which give some clues to the sounds within.

Indeed, the tape is a compound of crumbles, waves, and organ. The crumbles take the form of (obviously) crackles, rumbles, and other harsh noise wall foundations. There’s a variety of textures explored and carved out by Uitgeschakeld, though the range of sounds, or colours, is not too far-stretched. This plays into the second part of our defining trio: waves. Both tracks often carry a sense of being structured in waves; in perhaps the simplest example, Crumbles and Waves has several sections dominated by one set of textures, which are then interrupted intermittently by eruptions of contrasting textures.

In the track’s opening passage, a dry, fuzzy wall of noise has several of these interruptions - either spectacular, powerful outbreaks of violent treble, or more laid-back trails of crackle. These bring to mind obvious metaphors of tides and waves. As well as this, there are also rhythmic sections in both pieces, where something looping or metronomic can be discerned under the surface of the noise. The organ part of the triptych is simply that: an organ. This distinctive sound can be heard poking out of the wall of noise at several points, throughout both tracks. There’s an effective passage in Crumbles and Waves, where the organ breaks through a wall of speeding, caustic crackle; while The Organ Shrieks has several moments of severely obliterated keyboard sounds.

Whilst Crumbles and Waves is clearly conceived within the realms of HNW, it travels very far from the usual centre of the territory. It makes no pretence at being remotely static, with several shifts between different textures, short bursts of noise, and organ interruptions. However, the tracks remain anchored in static noise textures, and so the tape occupies an odd place where it might be much too active for HNW purists, but at the same time much too conservative or static for harsh noise lovers. Regardless, it’s a very interesting approach, and I hope Uitgeschakeld continues to mine this area in future.

Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

Martin P
Latest Reviews

Uitgeschakeld - Crumbles and Waves
Here’s another tape from Lurker Bias’ Neon Wall series, and again, I’m reviewing a digital version. The tape has two tracks, both exactly 15:54 minutes...
090725   Iggor Cavalera / Shane Embury...
080725   Sebastian Tomb - Even in shi...
080725   Koobaatoo Asparagus - Trinity...
070725   Deaf Center - Reverie
060725   RDKPL - Herr Pes Trinch
050725   Stinking Lizaveta - Hopeless...
030725   Yann Novak - Continuity
030725   Tourist Trap - Tourist Trap( ...
030725   Palindromes - Palindromes( Bl...
020725   Noise Trail Immersion - Tutt...
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