Sick System/ Slowgurn — Split

Here’s a walled noise split that shows a few different sides of the genre- we have the tight & compact, the droned-out, and the churningly bleak. This release, as with much of the scenes output, is a digital-only release- which appears on UK’s Death To Dynamics.

Cover artwork wise we have contrast heavy still from the 1971 low-budget horror film Lets Scare Jessica To Death- it shows a troubled woman walking out of a body of water. The release can  be found & downloaded here 

We open with two tracks from Sick System- who have seemingly been active for around a year, having four or so releases to their name thus far. The first track is “Solidarity Is Our Weapon 1”- coming in at just shy of the fifteen-minute mark- after a female voice saying the words 'solidarity Is Our Weapon'- we’re into the noise. We find a tight, tense and rapid blend of low-end judder & mid-ranged jitter- which has a rewarding feeling of slight forking descent about it. Together the elements create a very encasing & overloading wall- which keeps you easily focused throughout, and do be honest it could have been twice this length, and I still would be engaged by it.

Next, we have the second & final Sick System track “Solidarity Is Our Weapon 2” which once again rolls at just under the fifteen-minute mark. It’s all about buzzing droned outness- the ‘wall’ is built around a fairly simplistic mix of what sounds like guitar feedback hum & light pressing/ rattling sub-tone drone ‘n’ simmer. There is certainly more of a meditative - circling feeling to this track- it’s ok, but not quite as effective as the first track.

Finally, we have one just over the thirty-minute wall from UK’s Slowgurn- which has been active since 2021, and has released around five releases.  Their tracks is entitled “0026” here we find a bass/ centrally machine-like flow- ever so often I notice flicks & darts of other similarly toned texturing moving across it- these are quite effective- though never too disturbing from the original churning almost lightly groove edged to the proceeding. And this track held me thought-out.

All in all, not a bad split- with new artists to me Sick System offering up two worthy tracks, and a reward thirty-minute track from Slowgurn.  Though theme-wise wise it does seem decidedly muddled…