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Six Scores is modern composition release that darts ‘n’ dips all over the place. Going from creepy–to-manic vocal effects & field recording blends. Onto searing avant-to-mellow jazz drifts, choppy guitar noise, general off-kilter noise constructions, and a few more conventional atmospheric moments. It’s an album very much like a derange sonic chocolate box- you really don’t want you’ll get from track to track.
Ator, The Fighting Eagle was Joe D’Amato’s early 80’s stab at the sword & sorcery genre. It found the king of cheapie euro exploitation trying to mimic Conan The Barbarian, but of course on less than a shoestring budget- we get muscularly-yet-scrawny hero, shaky sets, bad wigs, little or no special effects, and parkland as wildness. Here from Dark Force & Code Red is a recent region free Blu Ray release of this cheap, cheesy, yet charming enough euro-fantasy romp.
Offering To The Morning Fog is an extremely apt title for this new release from US ambient legend Robert Rich, as the whole album has a very hazy, yet warningly ebbing & drift quality about it- with at points one almost getting the feeling that you've drifted up into the clouds themselves. The six-track release- which is available as either a CD or digital download- is very flute forward in its sonic make-up, making for very lush-yet-hauntingly soothing album.
London five-piece July are seen as one of the great forgotten band of the 1960’s. Their 1968’s self-titled debut tied together psychedelic experimentation of The Beatles or early Pink Floyd with lo-fi garage rock- sadly due to lack of the proper label push at the time, the album didn’t get the praise/ recognition it deserved. But that’s not the end of the band's story- in 1995 Cherry Red reissued some of the bands early demo tracks under the album title of Second of July, and this, in the end, led the group to re-group recording another three albums- this six box set from Grapefruit, Cherry Red's Psychedelic sub-label tells the bands whole musical story.
Rising from the ashes of church fires from the Norwegian Black Metal scene of the early 90's, Ulver has continued to change and grow as their creative development deemed fit, putting a vast chasm between their current output and their roots. Passing through many genres on the way to their latest, Flowers of Evil, Ulver has shown how malleable their sound can be, as long as they continue to reach onward. Ulver's newest album sees the band discussing the themes of good and evil, once again through a poppier lens.
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!.
Here we have a CDR/ digital download split bringing together two French noise acts- we have the king of nihilistic & unchanging walled noise Vomir. And seemingly fairly noise sub-genre-shifting project Corporal Abuse, whose work has shifting from Harsh noise, noisecore, and ambient.
Madeleine Cocolas is an Australian pianist, composer, and sound designer who released one previous record Cascadia in 2016, prior to this new release Ithaca.
Seventy-five years ago this month, on the 6th of August 1945, one bomb wiped about 80,000 people off the face of the Earth in a flash, with a similar figure suffering injury and altered lives. A US Airforce plane, Enola Gay, dropped its payload over the city of Hiroshima, and changed the world we live in forever. Depicting such a monumental abyss of death and destruction is not a simple venture and it strikes me, from my Western perspective, that Hiroshima is the first film I’ve seen that tackles the subject. Given this, it is perhaps surprising that Hiroshima was released in 1953 - a mere eight years after the events it depicts - and is now 67 years old. This new blu-ray edition is a complete restored version of the 104 minute black and white film, and arrives complimented with extras including a 73 minute documentary featuring interviews with survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, critical writings, and a video essay.
Do you enjoy messy lo-fi ‘n’ crude blacked metal that shifts between haphazard speed-ness and mid-paced evil-ness, with keyboards & lots of campy/ prime evil moody bits/ break downs?. Then I’d say Summoned By Shadows is tailor made for you- this twenty three track CD is a posthumously release from Wind Of The Black Mountains- who are seen as one of founding fathers of US Black metal. And surprisingly for such of a release made up of odds ‘n’ ends, different takes, etc- it’s fairly consistent & listenable though-out, with only a few tracks dipping into repetition & mediocrity.
Vampire's Kiss is a film that skirts & darts through both horror and comedy- but never fully settles in either. I guess it's best to describe it as a very dark satire, or possibly a grimly whimsically modern fairy tale. The film focus on pompous & arrogant literary agent- who may or may not have been bitten by a vampire- in the lead role is Nicolas Cage offering up some classic over the top acting, but the film around him is certainly very difficult to fully pin into one genre. Here on Koch Media is a duel Blu Ray & DVD release of the film, that’s presented in a glossy red media book format.
Church Of The Damned is an enjoyable-if-often not terrible coherent slice of mid-1980’s Shot on Video splatter fun- it’s the first-ever film made by US horror geek brothers John & Mark Polonia. The picture is full with lo-fi yet creative effects, hammy acting, and a satanic cult made up of corpse paint wearing monks with zombie followers- all set in snowbound location. Here on SRS Cinema is a recent region free DVD of the film- taking in an into & commentary from Mark Polonia.
From the guys over at Vinegar Syndrome here’s a doubleheader of early 1980’s sleaze from Connecticut born X rated director Paul Vatelli- both films feature a good enough balance of fleshy action, plot, and artful/ well-scoped directing. The release is presented in multi-region DVD & Blu Ray duel set, with both films getting the normal classy VS scan- no extras this time aside for a trailer for the lead film, but you do get two entertaining slices of 80’s hard-core.
After five or so years Spectral Mechanics is the welcome return of Ghost- one of the longest-running, known & revered projects of French Noise artists Julien Skrobek. This new release comes in the form of a 3inch CDR on Florida’s Inner Demons Records- featured is just a single nineteen and a half minute track, that’s best described as walled noise-meets-graceful, yet haunted ambient.
Scrape is an uncomfortably wonky & often highly soured sonic journey in minimal tone sculpting. It’s a release to put you ill at ease, or get you slowly unsettled, so unlike some minimal soundscaping this certainly won’t soothe or mellow you out, really having the opposite effect. The album is a ten-track digital release on highly respected sound art label Line.
Deep, dark, marine ambient, Chra's latest release, Seamons, comes via Editions Mego. Abstract but still tight enough to trigger suffocating thassalophobia, Seamons harnesses the terrifying vastness of the sea and its many unseen denizens. The type of album that can start anywhere and still deliver an impressive experience, Chra (Christina Nemec) puts a sonic spin on the sea so that landlubbers can drown their ears in the comfort of their own homes.
Tenderness(Neha) is a glum-yet oddly intriguing 1990’s Slovakian drama that moves between almost noir stage-ness, stilted domestic dramatics, and grim obsession. It charts the relationship between a young man, and a troubled middle-aged couple who have their own share of problems & secrets. From British art-house/world cinema label Second Run- who have an eye for putting out both moody & thought-provoking cinematic fare- here we have a recent region free blu ray of the film- bringing together a new 2k print, a few extras & inlay booklet.
Bourgeois Aspirations severs up ten slices of relatively short, dense, and creative harsh noise which has both a collargey & playful vibe about it. The release appeared in April of this year on respected Stockholm based noise label Ominous Recordings- it came in the form of a C30 & digital download- sadly the tapes all gone now, but it’s still worth well checking out as it’s certainly one of the more creative & fairly accessible noise releases I’ve heard this year, also I'd say this would be a great entry level release for anyone getting into the noise genre.
Psychedelic Folk has its roots in the distant 1960’s. Over the decades, the style has developed, merging with other genres, such as experimental electronics, noise & metal. In my opinion, the most progressive and interesting bands combine elements of folk, drone and ethnic touches in their sound. I know a few such projects, and really enjoy them for their non-trivial and experimental approach to writing music. One such ensemble is the Geist & the Sacred Ensemble, a Washington quartet whose history began in 2005. Their debut album was released in 2008 and titled "Geist & Samuel Joseph"- which to begin with was the band name too. Over it’s time, the band changed it’s name, took part in five compilations and recorded seven albums, the last of which is Waning Hymns- it released in the summer of 2020 by the American experimental label Scry Recordings. It was released in either vinyl LP or digital download.
Antifona brings together four modern chamber works from Paris-based Italian composer Giuliano d’Angiolini, whose work is often sparse-yet-highly controlled & layered in both its execution, flow, and tone. From Another Timbre- one the more prolific, yet quality bound modern composition/ modern classical labels- here we have another sparsely presented gate folded CD release.
Here’s a rather enjoyable ‘n’ worthy C60 split/ digital download, which shifts between moody harsh noise & all out walled noise. It brings together atmospheric-at-times wallish/ textured harsh noise from Pittsburgh based RJ Myato, and all out-dense HNW from Florida based Planet Shithead.
Horrors Of Spider Island is a somewhat of cheeky 'n' creepy exploitation crossbreed- the 1960’s film is a decidedly uneven mixture calendar girl nudie cutie & marauding monster camper. From Severin here we have a region free Blu Ray release of the film- bringing together two different versions of the film, and a few extras.
Fantom Killer is one of the more recent projects from respected & influential US noise-maker Richard Ramirez. This self titled C30/ digital download is the first fruit from the venture, and what we have here is pummelling ‘n’ battering walled noise with a giallo / killer theme to it….it’s fairly text book example of the HNW form, but of course features Ramirez knack of creating suffocating, grimly atmospheric, yet entrancing wall craft.
Campy, corny, and a hell of a lot of fun The Giant Spider Invasion is basically a 50’s when-creatures-attack sent to 1970s with innuendo lined dialogue, splatters of gore, the odd glance of female flesh, and a fifty-five-foot spider wandering across the countryside gobbling folk-up. From Dark Forces here we have a region free Blu Ray release of the film, taking in a great new bright ‘n’ bold print, and few interviews.