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Nihil Obstat (Nothing Hinders) sees this Dutch lutenist returning with another six tracks of entrancing, ornate, and atmospheric lute music- which mangers to sound both timeless, yet still modern in it's use of melody & structure.
Vermis is the latest release from New Zealand three piece (Kiwi Threepee?) Ulcerate, and their first release on on the legendary Relapse label. Their first three releases have been very well received, and although early, Vermis looks to continue the trend. The (not so) secret to their success? They're challenging the genre. Not content to stagnate in a style rife with cliches and genre trappings, Ulcerate's technical chops, complex song structure, and inventive approach to death metal have the strength to make them stand out from the crowd.
“The Complete Solo Works” brings together two solo albums from the largely prolific & multi project linked Jussi Lehtisalo- who is most known as the bass player/ key mind behind locked riffing/ multi genre finish project Circle, but is also connected with the likes of Pharaoh Overlord, Steel Mammoth, Rättö Ja Lehtisalo, Krypt Axeripper, etc. Lehtisalo also runs the Ektro label, which focuses in on old & new Circle recordings, a selection of creative & mixed genre Finish sonic fare, quirky & odd reissues- that take in everything from: macho 80’s metal, Finnish post-punk , US noise Rock & hardcore punk , Finnish death metal, and beyond. So as you can imagine this release is very difficult to pin down into any one musical genre.
“Horn” is a CD reissue of a live Pharaoh Overlord vinyl only release from 2011, and it finds the band at their most raw, rocking & repetitive. Coming off like a churning ‘n’ dirty fixed mix of US noise rock, 1970’s Garage rock, with hints of Neo-psychedelic guitar scaping, and locked down 1980’s rock guitar soloing.
The ‘Metal’ scene has become infamous for its proliferation of sub-genres. It seems like new ‘genres’ pop up on a daily basis. This abundance of classifications often borders on the ridiculous, but that is a discussion for a later date!
Shiver is a pretty new (and totally unknown to me prior to this review) noise/power electronics act from Genova, Italy. That region has quite a good history of industrial/noise/bizarre music (Runes Order, F:A:R: being the first names that come to mind, try to find some of their stuff on youtube if you don't know them), and I'm very pleased to discover new material from an area this close to home.
Cold Spring have rescued 'Chthonian Music' from total obscurity by reissuing this 'transposition' of an underground, multi-channel acoustic installation previously limited to just 50 copies when first released in 2010. And we can be thankful that they did, as the results provide for a surprisingly coherent album, despite its convoluted concept and absence of the original presentation's staging. Indeed, it succeeds in its ambitions to bridge "contemporary art, post-industrial culture and the avant garde black metal", deftly assisted by contributions from a generous selection of suitably underground (ahem) artists of note.
Chocolate Monk presents a new live full-length from long-running Ukrainian experimental artist, Edward Sol. I quite enjoyed the last album I reviewed of Mr. Sol, Sun Storm Rampage, so I was much looking forward to giving this one a spin.
Muzikaal Kabaal presents Light Collapse’s Spira Derespive as part of their 3” Gnome Project series. Light Collapse is the moniker of Russian HN/HNW artist Vitaliy Maklakov, a project that has been receiving quite a bit of praise in HNW circles as of late, at least on some of the internet forums I frequent. Along with the fanfare, Muzikaal Kabaal has a pretty good track record in my books for producing quality micro editions, so that’s already two things going for this release.
This recent reissue charts the musical meeting of two of America’s easy listening legends: Martin Denny- composer & key figure in the development of the exotica sound, and Si Zentner- trombonist and jazz big-band leader. This CD release brings togeather a collaborative album from 1962 “Exotica Suite”, & a stand alone Si Zentner release from 1963 “More (Theme From Mondo Cane) ”.
The English Heretic are a mysterious musical & literary collective who investigate occult /horror matters blurring the lines between fact and fiction. The project has been active since 2003, & their sinister/atmospheric sound has moved through: dark Coil like electronics, sampled 1940’s music, darkly psychedelic tinged acoustic & electric guitar song-craft, folk, field recordings & ambience. All tipped with the projects mainly male spoken word elements. Sometimes they release book/ booklet & CDR sets, and at others they release just stand alone cdr or vinyl releases.
“Die Erbin Des Dracula” finds this Italian based HNW project offering up a C20’s worth of pummelling yet atmospherically under-fed walled noise. The release's title translates to “The Heiress Of Dracula”( which was the German title for Jess Franco’s euro sleazy horror classic Vampyros Lesbos), and the cover artwork/ inlay suggests late 60’s to early 70’s euro horror b movies.
Andrea Belfi is a truly unclassifiable musician who has been releasing diverse and subtle sound works since 2001. This album "Wege" is one of two she put out on the Room40 label in 2012. With a long list of studio musicians and influences ranging from post rock to classical to deep listening / new music, it's an ambitious project. The album is divided into 4 tracks, titled A - D. A and B, at 15 minutes each, are much longer than the others.
Here’s another exquisitely packaged release on Altar Of Waste, containing three tracks of HNW from Bad Algorithim. The outside cover is quite spectacular: a garishly hued, Bosch-eque painting; depicting a multitude of flora, fauna and “beings” conspiring in bizarre acts. The inside cover and disc both feature paintings of prehistoric creatures - no real clues as to any meaning or “theme” here. The three tracks account for just over an hour of sound, and all are HNW, with few frills.
Avant garde / field recording artists Tim Olive & Alfredo Costa Monteiro have teamed up to created this album, titled "33 Bays". It's a noisy, textural work full of the metallic sounds of the industrial world that's been split into two parts. It's nice to see an assemblage of field recordings sourced solely from civilization, for a change.
The experimental scene is wide and diverse and filled with so many artists, you're constantly coming across a project you've never heard, and most of the time, never heard of! Usually, though, with a little research, you can find out a bit about the (wo)man/(wo)men/transsexual behind the sound. However, there are times when, try as you might, you end up like an Irishman trying to masturbate on a cold day; you can't find anything. That's where I am with Guillermo Pizarro. I don't know his history, but I now know his Glasswerks release, and I'm very glad to make its acquaintance.
Spectrum Spools presents: Weird Universe, the long overdue full length from Valerie Martino’s Unicorn Hard-On project. Being active in the underground experimental noise scene for a decade now, she has produced a number of cassettes and other micro releases on her own Tangled Hares label and more recently released a split 12” with Container on More Records.
P.O.P stands for Psychology of Perception, and the projects aim is to creating off-kilter & brooding instrumental experiments. I guess sound wise you’d say this was somewhere between: avant classical, subdued noise, quiet ‘n’ angular improv, and brooding soundtracking.
This new double disc release from Cherry Reds’ 1970’s pop in-print 7Ts, offers up the 3rd & 4th albums from The Dooleys- the eight piece Essex based uk family pop band who existed between 1967 & 1991.
“In Search Of The Lost Devine Arc” finds AMT brewing up a more 1970’s rock themed release that simmers up influences like Led zeppelin, more galloping Hawkwind, garage rock, & heady flute weaved psychedelic rock drift , with the bands more chaotic & distinctive brand of space rock.
Missouri based Jute Gyte don’t really like staying in one genre box, over the last few years their releases have dwelled-in & mixed together: progressive ‘n’ unbalancing polyrhythm lined black metal, wonky ‘n’ unhinged IDM/ electronica, doomed guitar work-outs, digital ‘n’ analogue fed harsh noise, and beyond. “Metonym” finds the project very much in a unhinged & unbalanced IDM/retro electronica setting.
A cardboard wallet, with washed out and blurred photography, holds this album from To Blacken The Pages. “Bogland” has eleven, guitar heavy tracks, which will take up sixty-five minutes of your time; unfortunately. As you can tell, I gained very little joy from this cd; but it did cast light on the power of “production”.
Lossmaker is the new project of Luke Wyatt, better known for his eponymous VHS work and as Torn Hawk. While Wyatt uses a similar approach on Lossmaker as Torn Hawk, there are some differences. Are these differences enough to warrant a different moniker?
James Killick (aka Love Katy) & Cory Stand are two of the most controversial figures with-in today’s HNW/ walled noise/ static noise scene. Each has embrace & melded pop music/ pop culture figures into the formal totally dark, negative & Giallo / horror themed wall noise scene. And each has tried to bend & stretch the genres sound with progressive elements & detours into ANW, grey & thin ambience, thick drone & beyond.