The Shudder of Anguish — Bell

The Shudder of Anguish is one of the solo walled noise projects of American noisemaker Sean E. Matzus(Black Leather Jesus & Last Rape). Here from 2017 is Bell, the first in a series of sonic tributes to queer icons Matzus admires- and the Bell in question here is none other than Andy Bell lead singer of UK synth-pop duo Erasure - a bit of an unusual/ curious theme for walled noise, but hell over the years we’ve had walls themed around female pop singer Katy Perry & Pooh Bear…so why not Andy Bell!.

The release appeared on The White Visitation- which is Matzus own label- apparently, the physical version finds the tape presented in a small zip log plastic sleeve, this features stark monochrome pictures of  Mr Bell. It has an edition of ten copies- and as of writing the label still has copies for sale.

So first up we have “Bell #1” – this is the longer of the two tracks at nineteen forty-two. What we find here is a nice thick 'n' crushing example of wall-craft, with Matzus bringing together a deep ‘n’ rolling bass drone, with a blend of juddering static, jittering slightly beaded rapid churn & muffled burred rattle. Together the elements create a nicely entrancing & encasing ‘wall’, I particularly like the deep, deep bass tone which literally purrs & drills into one's head throughout the tracks length.

Next up have “Bell #2” this slides in at eight seconds over the fifteen-minute mark, and of the two tracks here is my favorite- as it mangers possess both urgency & dense noise droning focus. The ‘wall’ is built around a constant rolling 'n' deep roast- around this we have a constantly fixed elector rattle/ crackle- which creates a feeling of tension & focuses for the track. At points, you feel like the rattle/ crackle may suddenly start to short out & stop, yet it never does, caring on with its droning-yet-moodily raging feel- which really is most, most appealing

Bell is a great little release; it highlights Matzus ability to create balanced and battering wall-craft that both entrance &  appeal- both walls certainly feel like their cut from the same sonic fabric, but both are subtly different in their feel & attack. And As I said early there are copies still available.