Stalk Market — Sidewinder

Sidewinder is a two-track HNW release from Ohio’s Stalk Market. According to the releases write up, it’s meant to offer up a short and longer version of the same track, but I found a few differences between the tracks.

This is a digital release appearing on Poland’s Gates of Hypnos. We get a rather basic black and white picture of you, guess it, a sidewinder snake- this is ok, I guess.

So the first track is “Sidewinder” which at just shy of the five-minute mark. It opens with a rising pitch drone- before jumping into a mix of constantly galloping static roll, distant rolling/ billowing end, and a few cluttering/hacking subtones. There’s a very rapid yet dusty feel to the ‘wall’, which of course fits the theme of the release well enough.

The second track is “ Sidewinder(Extended Version)”- There’s no pitch drone here, we just jump straight into the ‘wall’- here we once again find a decidedly dusty & constantly rapid rolling affair. This time, we find a muffled grain roll, thinner rattling ( which brought to mind wind blowing through a mass of dried reeds), and a distant billowing knock.

I liked both ‘walls’ well enough, but I’d say the second is the better, as it feels just that little bit rougher of the two. So if you're in the mindset for roughshod/ dust choking HNW- give this a go!.