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Anonymous Masturbaudioum's "Pantyhose Rubbing" was released in December, 2015, on the Italian noise label Signora Ward. It was released on white C60 cassettes in a clear casing, with black and white artwork depicting feminine feet in pantyhose. The tape came only a year on from when they had begun a wave of HNW releases focused on the genre's relationship with worship and fetishization. Specifically, Signora Ward is known throughout the HNW realm as the home of the "Nylon HNW". While it can hardly be considered the very first noise vehicle to draw upon these thematics, the determined proclivity of the label was perhaps unmatched once the obsession had spiralled and spiralled- from its inception at the end of 2014 through to this, it's thirtieth release, at the end of the following year- in that time proving beyond all doubt to most listeners that this label had gone furthest in their allegiance to this topic.
This two disk anthology of 21st century classical ('art') music is a state funded project by Music Information Centre Lithuania, which promotes Lithuanian music worldwide. Eastern Europe in general has a strong history of classical music, although there aren't many noted composers to come from Lithuania specifically.
It’s fair to say Mad Foxes is one of the most OTT, depraved, and sleazy shots of exploitation you’ll ever have seen. Originally released in 1981, and pretty much banned in most of the world for many years- the film is a scuzzy blend of biker, kung fu, and vigilante cinema- smeared with liberal amounts of flesh( both male & female), gory death, and very un-PC sentiment. Here from Full Moon Features, we have a recent region free DVD.
Ten Years Under The Earth blends together elements of (mostly) pared back improv, acoustic industrial/ ritual texturing, organic dark ambience & field recordings. The single forty five minute track offered up here moves from the foreboding & eerier, to the building & atmospheric, onto the denser & (semi) noisy.
The Devil’s Rain is a 1975 horror film starring Ernest Borgnine, William Shatner and Tom Skerritt. It is also remembered as the film debut of a young up and coming actor, a pre-Carrie and Grease, John Travolta. The movie was directed by the wonderful English film maker Robert Fuest, he of The Final Programme, and Dr Phibes movies. If you’ve seen these movies you already know to expect something a little different that will challenge its audience, which The Devil’s Rain does in spades.
Swedish industrial stalwart Nordvargr returns to the fold once again with his latest, Metempsychosis. His first on the revered Cyclic Law label, this brutal slab of grim, pounding, ritualistic industrial unleashes Nordvargr's long distant, primitive past, and captures the raw emotion of the human condition. The struggle for survival is not always pretty, and the music on Metempsychosis revels in this grim, uphill battle.
When one considers 80's British Punk music, you often think of spiky angry- focused in on the government, the establishment, or big business. Sunderland based Toys Dolls where one of the first bands to focus in more humorous & comic lyrical themes. Which was backed by the bands often speedy, tuneful, and playful punk sound that brought together elements of pop punk, Oi, & guitar-based pop indie. Here we have a five-CD box set- bringing together all of the band's output between the years 1983 & 1987- taking four studio albums, and a disc of rarer B sides/ alternative track versions.
This self-titled release is the first ‘official’ solo release from Hardy Fox, who has recently revealed himself as one of the key minds behind avant pop/ experimental trickster The Residents. This CD offers up a selection of emotional & at times quite fraught electronica/ minimal synth pop- all topped off with Mr. Fox’s weary, wavering, yet often felt vocals
Muddersten are a Scandinavian trio who create shadowy- yet–darkly playful brand of improv, electro-acoustic texturing, and drone matter. The trio formed in 2015 and Playmates is their second release, after their 2017 debut Karpatklokke.
As it’s title suggests this 1980’s film is a campy ‘n’ cheesy blend of sci-fi, comedy, & horror- paying a hearty tribute to fifties monster movies, but with a healthy dollop of neon & playful 80’s flare running right through the middle. Here we have a new Arrow Video release of the 1988 film- featuring a new 4K scan of the film, and a host of new& older extras alike.
Much like the film its scoring Johnny Greenwood’s soundtrack for You Were Never Really Here nicely plays & messes with one's perceptions to create a score that effortless darts from beauty, queasy uneasy & sleek tension. With Greenwood shifting all over the instrumental & genre map, blending together elements of formal & lush string scoring, avant classical texturing, electrionica, pressing ‘n’ sour ambience, and twanging guitar elements.
The Other Russian Tape is a C60/digital download from Stockholm based walled noise project Rien. It presents up two thirty minute slices of extremely tense ‘n’ tight static texturing- these really create both a feeling of airless tension & detailed texturing.
The eponymous split (or should I say the split album entitled "Split"[?] There has tended to be much deliberation within HNW on how to best represent 'lack' in this case, many writing "Untitled", some writing the artist aliases that appear in the release, and other simply writing "split" - or perhaps a combination of these, although I have never seen "Untitled Split by X and Y" so this culmination is ripe for the picking) by Dutch HNW project Uitgetschakeld and Russian HNW alias SP was released as a limited CDr run and digital album on the Russian label Reason Art Records in August 2017. CDr releases have been quite rare for the label, usually preferring tape, although the labelhead Sergey Pakhomov has long shown an interest in expanding the horizons of the label through an experimentation of plausible mediums - having released noise albums on both VHS cassette and DVD!
Forever Escaping Boredom release of a noisy four way split proves that it's not all sun and fun in Florida. With a side each from Novasak, Human Fluid Rot, Fail, and Vasectomy party, this double C42 blasts through the listener's speakers with a loving intensity and varied approach of style. Nicely compiled, this split is a great showcase of four acts from Florida's vibrant noise scene.
Dálava is an ensemble that works to ressurect an ancient style of 'Moravian' (Czech) folk song, augmenting traditional melodies with modern instrumentation. The group created one other album, self titled, in 2014, prior to this album "The Book of Transfigurations", which has been released on contemporary jazz label Songlines.
From the rather derivative title of this 2014 documentary, you’d expect it to be a fairly run-of-the-mill live concert footage doc. But instead it’s a touching & often charming film about friendship, family, and origin- sure you get some of your standard ‘concert’ footage, but this is only a facet of the film. Here we have a 2017 region free Blu ray of the film from MVD Visual.
Meet The Residents is one of the most unpredictable, outlandish & deranged debut releases of all times. The 1974 album is a decidedly lopsided, haphazard, and dada focused mix of wonky easy listening, show music, rudimental avant rock, off-color funk & other avant filtered genre blends. Here from Cherry Red/ MVD Audio, we have the double-disc reissue of the album- which presents both the mono & stereo versions of the album, alongside a slew of never released material from the time.
Israeli expatriate in Berlin, Yair Etziony's 6th album is his first since his relocation to Germany. This experimental composer harnesses the darkness for his latest, Deliverance. Using many instruments, both old and new, Yair's newest composition is a thick, dark, physical slice of industrial ambiance.
The sound of Central Asia’s melting glaciers is the jumping off point for “glaciermusic” a project propagated by the Goethe – Institutes in Almaty and Tashkent to raise awareness of the impending environmental catastrophe through the visionary work of artists and musicians. The compositions on this album are inspired by the ongoing environmental crisis of the Tujuksu glacier near to the Kazakh city of Almaty. This project came to pass after an expedition to the region made a number of sound recordings of the melting ice, highly sensitive microphones were placed in crevices of the glacier and recordings were made.
The Langham Research Centre sre a British four-piece that create moody, playful, cryptic & often concise modern musique concrete & modular work. Tape Works Vol. 1 is the projects first sonic statement, coming as either a 12 inch vinyl release, CD, or tape- I’m reviewing a CDR promo version of the release.
Here we have another classy & deluxe reissue from Crysalis label of a classic 1970’s Jethro Tull album. This times it’s 1977’s Songs From The Wood, which stands sonically as one of the more formal prog rock albums from the band- but of course, with that distinctively playful & clever Tull touches.
China’s Round Eye presents their latest album Monster Vision (Sudden Death) and it is quite the doozy. Despite residing in Shanghai, most of the members are from the states. The album evidently deals with 2016 U.S. Presidential election, but (as expats) from a unique outsider’s perspective.
The album 'Harsh Times' by N.I.H.L. came out on the Geräuschmanufaktur label in mid-2016. The German label, run by Jan Warnke of such inimitable projects as Sacred Climax and J.Adolphe, has been reviewed here before and given the due respect and appreciation it deserves. This album is the only release to date from the project, the initials of which stand for 'Noise Induced Hearing Loss'. The title of the project gives us a fairly good glimpse into what we can expect from the release.
2017’s Terrifier is a stab( pun very much intended) at taking the killer clown figure, and transporting it into grimy & murky 1980’s slasher-dom. Think Nightmares In a Damage Brain, or Maniac- but with a clown & you’ll get an idea of what to expect here.