Vomir / Trou — Vomir / Trou(boxset)
The four black cassettes feature white labels with both projects name in gothic text. These come in a long white tape box, and the artwork follows on with the grim gothic feel- with a grimy monochrome illustration of a vast & foreboding castle surrounded by occasional tiny human figures. You also get two inlays- first is a double-sided monochrome affair, which takes in the track listing, each tracks origin, as well as more bleak castle pictures. The second inlay is a single sheet affair showing what number of twenty you have. All in all it’s a nicely looking lo-fi/ noise box set, illustrating both the huge monolithic & moody grimness of the sonics inside.
Four of the eight sides of tape are taken up by an even mix of Vomir & Trou tracks- then we get aside a piece of Vomir & Trou, with the last two sides taking up sidelong collaborations. The set starts off really as it means to go on, with a blend of both parties sonic identity- so opening up the box we get “A Gate Through The Ages”- this is a ten minute track from Trou, it opens in surprisingly moody form- with a buzzing & twanging brooding meditative feel- but within a minute of so we’re into the wall. This is a manic-yet layered affair- bringing together rapidly hissing & bombarding back bone, with a shifting mesh of sudden baying loops, grainy washes of searing descent, muffled possible voice elements, and slurred pitch drones. Next we have an Untitled track from Vomir- this comes in at a second over the twenty-five-minute mark, and a blend of blunt billowing, chopping descending static, and sways of sub-tone rush. It’s fairly typical of Vomir crude & unforgiving take on the genre- through the elements blend together to create an appeal mesh of seared grimness, which nicely follows on from the first tracks vibe. After this we have another Trou track- this just shy of nine-minute track is entitled “Umoral Island”, this ‘wall’ nicely keeps up the bleak searing feel of the Vomir track, but adds in a feeling of bleak unsettlement- it brings together a rushing & feasting bee/ fly mesh of sound, which is shifted by sudden bays, drifting & eerier spinning textures, and slurred choral elements in the last few minutes.
Moving forward through the set on side III we have two shorter four to nine-minute Vomir tracks surrounding an epic thirty-one minute Trou track. The Vomir tracks have a surprising amount of moody sway ‘n’ sear in their unfolds( by Vomir standards)..though they are far from active wall- constructs. These two nicely lead in & out of the Trou track entitled "Bone Monolith"- this opens with three or so minutes of darkly sounding layered monk chants- then the ‘wall’ kicks in, this is a blend of churning & slightly broodingly tunnel- like bass drone, which is edged with a selection of rattling, buffeting, and battering sub-tones- these seemingly pull you deeper & deeper to the murky & moody bass elements at the centre of the track.
Sides IV to VI carry on the nice mix between mood & bleak sear, but really for me the highlights where the two collaboration tracks on the two sides of the final tape- as firstly Vomir rarely does collab tracks, and secondly they are interesting, at moments highly effective, blending of both parties sound. So first up on side VII we have “Agamemnon”- this opens with a blend of grinding ‘n’ rushing bass & skittering static grain ‘n’ wash- within less than a minute we get the return of the chanted monk elements- these are presented on top of the ‘wall’, and if I was been critical I’d say the monk element did feel a little overbearing, but I guess it’s difficult to balance everything. By the sixth minute the monk element has disappeared, and we briefly return to the more brutally roughshod blend of bass & static- this fairly soon sequenced into a really effective blend of borrowing & wavering dark bass drone, with rapidly slowing chopping ‘n rushing static grain. As we move further along there’s almost feel like there is a epic-yet- darkly atmospheric vibe rising, and at moments it almost brings to mind the grand sweeping dark soundtrack from Herzog’s Nosferatu The Vampyre. Though by the last ten or so minutes these elements sound more guitar like in the distant droning revolutions, and added to this we get more monk-like vocalising- though this time they seem a lot more ritual in there feel.
And over on VIII we have "Wotan"- the second & final collab track. This begins with a blend of building mid ranged roaring, & constant skittering static rushing- as the track progresses we get sways of cluttering mids & cascading sweeps of thinner static roasts. Further into the tracks runtime, and we start to get slightly deteriorating trials of splitting & shoring static, fizzing grains, and swaying rushers of noise matter. On the surface of this ‘wall’ feel’s like less appealing in its shifts- but if you let it play through a few times it will click.
All in all this is certainly one of the most interesting & appealing box sets in Vomir’s truly huge discography, as well as been a mostly worthy collaboration. I’m not sure how/when the reissue is coming so I guessing one best to keep an eye on Ciel Bleu Et Petits Oiseaux website.