CATalysis 猫媒 stands as one of the first albums of new material from Merzbow in a year or so. It’s a five-track CD affair- taking in four (CATalysis) connected tracks, and one twenty-two-minute standalone noise workout.  And I must say there are some rewarding moments of experimentation & sonic engagement present- though equally there are a few moments of rather grating-to-pedestrian noise making on offer too.

The release appears on Austin Texas based Elevator Bath. With the CD coming presented in a fold-out colour digipak- this takes in a selection of pictures of cats sitting by/ near rundown or abandoned, with clear spot gloss texts/ graphics. So a nice & low-key arty bit of presentation. The release is ltd to three hundred copies- which can be purchased directly from here.

The album opens up with the four CATalysis tracks- these have runtimes between nine and fourteen minutes. So, we open up “CATalysis No 1” this starts off with a mix of uneven marching percussive metal bangs, and oscillating texture tone roast. As we progress lightly jingle-edged mid-ranged noise sears, and grating rubs are brought into the mix. The whole track just feels a little too loose, wandering, and ultimately a little uninspired. So not a great start to proceedings.

Moving on we have “CATalysis No 2”. And here things improve tenfold, we find the marching percussion element returning in a more focused/ rewarding state- and around this is a mid-range tone wow/ hover. As move on we get these slight warbling tone pulls, blended with slightly higher-pitched wows/ hovers- with the percussion element taking on a more manic and bashing pile-up feel- as the tone wows & pitch hovers glide around in a wonderful hazily moody manner. Within the track's last five or so minutes these great shimmeringly ‘n’ brooding mid-range synth-like tones come into play- giving a very analogue 1970’s ambient electronica vibe.

Next is “CATalysis No 3” – this begins with very messy & crude sort of improv-like percussion runs. Over which we get this selection of circuit board blips, blops, and bays. As the track moves on we get more of these shunting sort rips, drags and bangs occurring, which are weaved with more mid to high-circuit board playfulness going on. 

Lastly of the CATalysis tracks we have "CATalysis No. 4"- this is the longer of these tracks, as it comes in at just shy of the fifteen-minute mark. It’s built around a dense/ shifting mesh of banging percussive tone- but the whole thing has this high-pitched tone running through it. We also get circuit board element appearing adding quirky playfulness- the problem is that the higher pitches are just too head drilling( in a bad way) and the whole thing does once again feel a little too wandering/ abstract- though not as bad as the first track.

Lastly, we have “Hat 1046” which sails in at just under the twenty-three-minute mark. Here we find a dense- but active mesh of lumbering purrs ‘n’ swirls, accelerating tone boils, choppy phaser slices, and Merz guitar pull ‘n’ shred. This track is fairly standard Merzbow fair, but the way he sculptures & pulls the whole thing is compelling- with some reward peaks & valleys occurring along the length of the track. With one being engaged thorough out.

It's certainly great to see this Japanese noise legend release some brand spanking new material- as over the last few years much of his output has been boxsets of unreleased odds ‘n’ ends from the past. Yes, it’s fair to say as an album CATalysis is rather mixed in quality- but there are some really rewarding/ worthy moments to be had.