Small Hours — ‘The Lovers, The Dreamers & Me’ & ‘This Is The Sta

The Harsh Noise Wall genre is one of the most brutal & uncompromising sonic forms in existence, and it’s normally linked with brutal 'n' uncompromising themes such as: horror movies, suicide, bleak thought patterns, and genreal darker side of things. Over the last year or so  Uk based waller noise maker James Killick has attempted to break this trend for darker themes - firstly he launched his Love Katy project that celebrated the American female popster Katy Perry. This new release from one of his other main projects see’s him using one of the most unlikely themes you could imagine for HNW: Kermit the Frog & his cousin Robin, yet he some how mangers to make it work.

First things first we must discuss the rather unequal packaging for this release. The two tapes come in a small green jute bag, which as well as the two tapes includes a hand knitted Kermit doll!. Both tapes feature full colour artwork that takes in pictures of Kermit & Robin.

Each tape here is single sided, and offers up one long ten minute track. The first tape is entitled “The Lovers, The Dreamers & Me”. This first track starts out with a verse & a chorus sample from "The Rainbow Connection", which was a Kermit song that was sung over the opening credits of the original 1979  The Muppets movie.  Slowly but surely the ‘wall’ starts bubble & judder up around sample until the sample disappears. And when the ‘wall’ fully takes hold it’s built around a juddering/ billowing lo-end texture, which is interlaced with this simulated collection of  chirping ‘n’ croaking sounds that suggests the swamp where Kermit lives. All told it’s an effective & clever bit  of ambient wall-making, and it works very well around the seemingly unlikely theme constraints.

Tape two’s track is entitled “This Is The Stair, Where I Always Stop”, and this once again starts with another song sample. This time it’s a verse or so of “Half way Down the stairs” which was sung by Kermit’s cousin Robin, and I used (I think) on one of the original TV episodes of the original Muppet show. With-in ten or twenty seconds the ‘wall’ has galloped in over the piano & chirpy voice of the song sample, and this wall is a lot more rapid & battering in it’s feel. It’s built around a fast jittering ‘n’ juddering tone, which is tautly under weaved by a tight  mass of skipping static grained noise.  Once again it’s a well put together piece of ‘wall making’, and while it’s slightly less spot on with it’s theme/ sound mix I still very much enjoy it.

So this is a very quirky little ANW/HNW release that offers up a rather surprising theme, and for the most part makes it work. Sadly this was ltd to only five copies which have long been snapped up- so let’s hope this gets a reissue or download release, as once again it shows Mr Killick on very good form indeed.