ROTAT — Static Antics
Static Antics severs up five slices of crude, nasty, and ear-ripping ‘n’ tearing noise that sits between thick harsh noise and walled noise. The release appears as a CD on Germany’s Aussaat.
The release is Ltd to one hundred & twenty copies- with the full/ finished release coming presented in a metal case with inlay/ sticker/ badge. For review, we’ve just been sent the CD, inlay( which features a monochrome picture of rather scared-looking sheep), and a sticker.
ROTAT is a Finish project- who has seemingly been active since 2015, releasing to date( as Discogs) twenty-nine releases. These take in tapes, CD’s, and digital downloads- I’d heard of the project's name, but Static Antics is my first taster of their work.
We kick off with “Night Porter” which opens with a nicely grimy 'n' crude noise bass purr, fairly soon this is joined by a thick flow of mid-ranged noise & hints at gurgling/ barely heard vocals. As the track continues the vocals seem to drop out, and we find a continual rushing mesh of purring low, grating mids, and cluttering mixes of lows & mids- with the whole thing breaking ever so often for more thick bass purrs.
Next is “Hoochie Whoracle” which brings together searing fan belt rip, grating spin, and low-end billow. As the track processes, we get these loose junk like bash & light fork elements going on. At points, there is a suggestion of more formal/ moody bang ‘n’ tolling tones, but these never fully take hold.
Track three is “Attic Burn”, and this opens with a purring/revving-like tone- this sounds like a slightly higher-toned version of the beginning of the first track. Before it launches into a mesh of mid-paced cluttering, sear, and gallop- blending mids with few lows. Personally, I felt this was the least effective track here, as the opening felt too close to the first track, and then it dropped into dense noise chaos felt somewhat underwhelming.
“Hanged To The Horn” is all about searing rush, cluttering static, and low-key electro prod ‘n’ swim. This track features a few effective moments of sudden/ taut paring back, and the general flowing mesh of the noise textures is most rewarding. Finally, we have “Lycanthro Drunk” which opens with a blend of baying tunnel roar & mid pace sear, as the track moves on we get this rattling/ slightly bucking feel within the noise flow- this effect seems to increase/decrease over the track's length, with some neat tense moments of pared back buck 'n' grain skitter.
Static Antics sits on the cusp of harsh and wall noise- with a crude & nasty spirit, largely it’s an album that retains its brutalizing appeal, only on a few occasions slipping into bland sameness.