Shumoizolyatsiya/ Train Cemetery — Split

Here’s a two-way wall split featuring two Russian HNW projects- each offering up a single around the twenty-minute track. We have the up and coming Shumoizolyatsiya project, and Train Cemetery whose one of the more creative and respected names in the Russian wall scene.

The cassette version of this release came in an edition of twenty copies last July- and amazingly the label still has copies available. The smoky grey cassette is presented in a grey, red, and black colored cover that takes in an illustration of babies floating in a barbwire circle, and a magnified germ cell in an army chair,

First, out of the door, we have Shumoizolyatsiya track- this is entitled “Textures Of Static Shadows Of Departing Trains”- this project has been active 2018, and has so far racked up about thirty or so releases. I’ve heard both a few splits & stand-alone releases from the project, and most of what I’ve heard has been of good-to-great quality. The track to hand here is booth very dense & rapid in its attack as we have a mixture of boiling rolling rumble, tense & compact static jitters, and buffing sweeps of noise grain. It sounds akin to a trapped storm cloud inside an underground train station, as a road drones on above- strange description I know, but that what I’m getting. The ‘walls’ ok I guess, keeping one locked in well enough- I just wish a few of the texures had been worked on more before they'd been brought together.

Next on side B we have “Isolated In The Noise”- of course, this is the Train Cemetery track. This project has been active since 2016- and has seen it put out a mixture of material that’s moved between more creative and detailed wall matter, and denser & battering HNW- with the project putting out fifty plus releases thus far. The track here is a great example of the project's skill for using creative textures- as we find a fairly dense wall that brings together a rolling beading judder, cutting-to shunting hisses, tiny snaps & rustle, and wonder swipes. All creating a wonderful detailed and entrancing wall that rewards repeat plays- I hate to say it, but it really is in another league to the so-so first sides track, so that does make the whole split feel a little lopsided.

It’s always nice to see country-focused wall noise splits coming out- as it gives one a nice feel for the said countries scenes- so it that way both sides of the split are worthy, it’s just that the second side is so much more crafted & nuanced which does un-balance the split somewhat. If both tracks whereof the standard of the second side we’d be certainly looking at 4, possible 5 score title- but as it stands I’ve gone for a 3.