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Echoes of Fear is a 2018 film that moves from creepy J horror-to- tense thriller- and besides a few issues, it stands as one of the better-haunted house/ supernatural thriller in recent years. It features some good eerier atmospherics, well placed/ effective jump scares, and a neat hillside house setting.
Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes was the 4th album from Officer!- the decidedly wonky ‘n’ sonic unwell project helmed by Brit Mick Hobbs( Half Japanese). The album originally appeared back in 1988, and it found Mr. Hobbs & his odd sonic cohorts covering a fairly bit of sonic ground. Moving from Syd Barret like pop rock child-like fare, onto general more deranged singer-songwriter fare, drop into off-key synth-pop, simmering art-rock, klezmer tinged jazz moments, strutting reggae, odd world music touches, and a few other fairly surprising genre diversions along the way. Here from the folks at Klanggallerie is a much-needed CD reissue of the late 80’s oddity- adding in six unreleased tracks from the same period, bring up the total release playtime to sixty one minutes.
Originally released back in 1984 Hope is a dense & often careering blend of rhythmic percussive work-outs- be they organic or electronic, soured industrial drifts, wayward sample sweeps, DIY electronica, sinister–to-funk bound bass tones, noise, and from time-to-time vocals that take in either shouty chants or wailing post-punk vocals. Bourbonese Qualk where are a experimental music collective with anarchistic leanings from Southport UK- and Hope was the band's fifth release. From Klanggallerie here we have CD reissue of the album.
As evidenced by the opening notes of "Gyrosia," Thecodontion is bass-centric, heavy, and propulsive. This start to their first full length, Supercontinent, shows how this Italian duo's sound and lyrical content both carry heavy, tectonic energy. Recruiting members from Seventh Genocide and Igor Mortis to round out this LP, Thecodontion bring forth fast and heavy black/death metal that would make a heaving Earth very proud.
The New Kids is a mid-1980’s teenage revenge/ high school gang drama/thriller- it features a great early performance from James Spader, some fairly tense-to-brutal action, and a well enough flowing plot. Here from 101 Films, and part of their Black Label series which sees ultimate edition of cult films- is a release of one of the lesser-known titles directed by Sean S. Cunningham- the first Friday the 13th, and one of the producers behind harrowing & notorious rape/ revenge picture Last House On The Left
Here we have a rather neatly packaged C30 split which brings together bothersome-yet sluggishly moody wall noise- from Spanish based Belgian Damien De Coene, and textured noise meets unsettling noisemaking crossbreed from Netherlands based Idée Fixe.
Part (werewolf) who-done-it, part 70’s action-thriller, & part camp- horror- with touches of blaxploitation & cheesy 70’s tech- The Beast Must Die is a real romp of a film. Here from Powerhouse is a recent Blu Ray reissue of the film- featuring a remastered print, and a good selection of largely archive extras.
Social Distancing is one of the latest example of grindingly crude ‘n’ searingly nasty walled noise from one of the most known/respected names in the walled noise genre- sometimes black wearing project Vomir- aka French man Romain Perrot. The release appears in the form of a pro pressed CD on Perrot’s own label decimation social- it comes presented in a color mini gatefold that features pictures of grubby, topless & tattooed women with a black bags on their heads, so just like the sonics - crude & nasty!.
Ritual Rapture is a recent C40 from German thick ‘n’ crude wall noise project whom themes all of his work around cannibal films of the 1980’s. The release takes in two side-long slices of sonic battering, and really this is old school HNW of the most seared & unrelenting….so none of the slightly more creative stuff this project has dabbled in of late….this is straight-to-guts-&-rip-them-out wall matter.
There’s a lot to be said for listening to music in different ways, in different spaces, at different volumes. Alexandra is a case in point. On my first few listens through my stereo, I felt it was OK; it was pleasant, kind of pretty, but also perhaps bland and inoffensive. I think it took about a minute of headphone listening to reveal an entirely different and infinitely superior album. Alexandra has nine tracks, none of which wander too far from one other, focused around the guitar, banjo, and processing of Andrew Tuttle, and aided by several musicians on piano, trumpet, saxophone, cello, organ, fiddle, and pedal steel - including the wonderful Gwenifer Raymond on two pieces.
Here on Acorn Media is the double DVD release of Chernobyl- the 2019 five part drama based on the meltdown of Chernobyl's nuclear reactor no 4- it’s impact, it’s cover-up, and the lives lost/changed by the event. Since this series first aired, there has been much praise/ hype around it- and me been both cynical and not-really a TV drama fan, I’d put off seeing the series-as I was expecting to be disappointed, so it’s great to say I was wholeheartedly held, disturbed, and saddened by the series….so for once the praise/ hype is very much deserved.
Echo.Trio.Fragile.Eyot is a selection of four highly minimal modern compositions works from Swiss composer and clarinettist Jürg Frey. The pieces here utilizes both skeletal & sparse instrumentation, often slow pacing, silence & pause- to create thoughtful, at times moody works that flit between lulling repetition, spaced atmospherics, and even the occasional more jarring & subtly playful moment.
Built around the many faces of synthesized beats, SPIME.IM deliver the audio end of their immersive art experience. Based in Turin, this collective moves to bring the human-machine interaction in art to the masses, showing the ubiquitousness of machines in the human experience and blurring the lines between flesh and synthetics. Performing at festivals and putting on an audio-visual, 360° live show SPIME.IM try to capture some of that essence with this release, ZERO. Astonishingly immersive for just one facet of their performance, ZERO showcases the crossover point between man and machine, glitching and pulsating its way through integration.
Frost Burning is an edgy-yet-darting improv record, which nicely sits between taut moody atmospheric & at times seared manic-ness. This seven track CD is the first release from The Forestry Commission- a trio that brings together Bulgarian violinist Biliana Voutchkova, German double bass Alexander Frangenheim, and German pianist Antonis Anissegos.
Green Carnation are a veteran Norwegian progressive metal band featuring ex-Emperor member Tchort, with albums dating back to 2000. Their 7th album Leaves of Yesteryear came out this year on Season of Mist.
Between the years 1968 and 1982 British new wave director/ auteur Lindsay Anderson created the Mick Travis trilogy- his most infamous & iconic set of films, each mocked & satirizes certain British institutions/ British ways of life. First, there was 1968’s If…that focused on the public school system, then there was 1973’s O Lucky Man, which sent up working middle-class life, lastly there was 1982’s pitch-black farce / sci-fi film Britannia Hospital- which set its sights on the nations national health service. Each film featured Malcolm McDowell, as Mick Travis, and each was as scathing & unpredictable as each other. From the folks at Powerhouse here is a much needed Blu Ray reissue of the third & final film in the trilogy- with the disc featuring a new scan of the film & some neat extras.
The Missing Volume 1: Maura Murray presents the listener with two battering ‘n’ baying examples of walled noise. The release appeared in May of this year as either a C40, or digital download- the tapes ltd to 20 copies(with some left), but I can’t comment on it as I'm reviewing a digital promo of the release.
Mixing black, death, and experimental, Germany's Khthoniik Cerviiks return once again to Iron Bonehead, this time with their second full length, Æequiizoiikum. Eight tracks of grim, suffocating mayhem, KC churn forth vile, intriguing metal that defies timeline. At times, Æequiizoiikum sounds straight out of the early nineties, and others, just tantalizingly into metal's future. And with spelling wild enough to make Slade jealous, KC really have a style of their own.
During the 1970’s the ‘when animal/insects attack’ genre was huge- be it films or pulp paperback fiction- we had people eating rats, giant limb ripping crabs, flesh-eating slugs, killer sharks, flesh feasting worms,or amassed & swarming bees- much of this genre was very tongue-in-cheek, or downright silly. One of the few films in this genre that took a more serious, uneasy, bleak, and at times cryptic/ trippy take was Phase IV. The early 1970’s film focuses in on a small group of scientists under attack from a group of highly intelligent ants in the Arizona Desert. From 101 films, and part of their Black Label series which sees the ultimate edition of cult films- here's a two Blu Ray & booklet set release of this classic slice of ‘when insects attack’/ intelligent-yet-grim Sci-Fi. The set takes in a great new scan of the film, alternative ending, short films by the same director, a new commentary, and more
The experimental music scene knows no boundaries, be it creatively, or geographical. With all the diversity,you may think that all possible experiments with-in sound have been done. But sometimes there are albums or projects that changing this, for better or worse....Grindfailure is one such project.
Dyatlov Pass is the latest shot of Bigfoot themed walled noise from Fouke. The C40/ digital release appeared in March of this year, and it takes in two sixteen-to-thirteen minute examples of atmospheric-yet-battering wall craft from respected & highly influence US noisemaker Richard Ramirez.
I Have Boilers is a texture noise tour de force that blurs the lines between active walled noise, often droned out/ industrialized harsh noise, and darting textured noise craft. The release appears in the form of C40/digital download on Ominous Recordings- sadly the tapes all sold out now, but you can of course score the download…which is well worth doing as this is such a worthy release.
Vamp Androidism pairs up two masters of the walled noise form, for a C30 split themed around two slices of low-grade celluloid sleazy ‘n’ horror. The release brings together the French sometimes black bag wearing master of intense ‘n’ crude wall craft Vomir, and genre inventor/ innovator The Rita- each artist severs up a single fifteen-minute track apice, and each revels in sleazed & horror-fed intensity.
Underer, essentially the sole work of Nick Shellenberger, presents here a frantic blast of an album, which powers through a multitude of ideas in about twenty-five minutes.