Vacant Align — 22126

Now here’s a suitably barren ‘n’ battering slice of walled noise from Wisconsin’s Vacant Align. The single thirty-minute ‘wall’ brings together steadily moving yet gloomy post-industrial texturing, with buffing and baying tone for a bleakly atmospheric, yet seared ride.

Cover artwork for this digital self-release is rather abstract- taking in two grey shapes split by a mass of largely pure blackness.  Going from the projects bandcamp, apparently it’s a photo of an ice sheet. The release can be found here. 

The track is self-titled, and hits dead-on the thirty-minute mark. The ‘wall’ feels decidedly organic in its textural selection. We have a constantly baying canvas sheet tone, a through-the-gutters rattling, and a bucking static electrical cable churn.  Together, these elements create such a wonderful grim, yet engaging weave of barren sound. At points, the ‘wall’ almost brings in a true cold-weather shudder to your body, as the textures are so potent/ effective.

Vacant Align is a relatively new addition to the scene, starting in October of last year.  And I must say it really is managing to create well-conceived wall-craft that is both texturally original & highly atmospheric.