Reviews

This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical sound.

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Re: Reviews

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FAP wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 3:36 pm
RUBBISH wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 1:20 am Your reviews are extremely good/well written and hilariously honest and I really like them but I'm scared you may review something of mine.
:lol: Well, now that you mention it, I do recall being somewhat bored by the majority of The Pagan Christ, but that boredom ended with the title track, which I thought was awesome.
Of course, it's been years since I've heard that album; I don't think I can give it an honest review without giving it another spin, but I already have a backlog of about 30-40 hours worth of stuff I still need to listen to before that.
Consider yourself lucky... :twisted:

In all seriousness, thank you for your kind words.

Back to business:

David Behrman - Wave Train (1998):

(no full album rips on youtube, sorry)

More 20th century composer gobbledygook… for the first sixteen or so minutes. I suppose “Canons” and both parts of “Ricercar” could be enjoyable if one is in the right mood: I’d just skip them outright.

Of note is the title track, a 1966 composition made from what the liner notes describe as “piano resonance with feedback.” In practice, it sounds more like a violin bow being pulled across scrap metal. Whatever the case, it’s not bad.

Following immediately thereafter is the baffling “Sounds for a Film by Robert Watts,” a 1968 composition that’s about 70% nature sounds/raw foley work, 20% silence, 6% traditional instrumentation (implemented with seemingly little rhyme or reason), and 4% various electronic noises. I don’t know why it’s structured like this (the liner notes fail to provide the name of the supposed film or how this recording was obtained) but regardless, it’s a piece of shit.

Of far greater interest is “Players With Circuits,” composed and recorded in 1966. While not very harsh (or rather, not very loud), “Players With Circuits” is nonetheless a de facto noise composition and a damn good one at that. I’d love to know what circuits the “players” used in this recording, as such information is again vexingly absent from the liner notes.

Capping-off the compilation is “Runthrough,” another electronic piece: it’s just okay.

While Behrman’s solo work is a mixed experience at best, his contributions to mid-20th century avant-garde music should not be understated. He produced several indispensable early electronic records, mostly with Columbia, featuring the likes of John Cage, Henri Posseur, Milton Babbit, Pauline Oliveros, and Steve Reich, among others.

Notably, Gordon Mumma performed on all the tracks I liked (or at least found passable) on this compilation; Alvin Lucier and David Tudor also make appearances on “Runthrough" and “Canons,” respectively.
excellent track! really heavy/deep. I think that's what I like about Sissy Spacek, deep and superficial at the same time...
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Re: Reviews

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Methwitch - Indwell (2020):


Not to be confused with Jon Ingram’s oddball noise side project of the same name, Methwitch are a New Mexico-based deathcore band with a somewhat experimental edge, an edge made duller roughly halfway through their latest full-length LP, Indwell.

The album opens with a very blunt, textural loop that had me anticipating a more avant-garde approach to the deathcore formula; indeed, there are some atypical effects, instrumentation and musical structures implemented throughout the album, often to positive results. The banshee-like screams on “Brimstone Heart,” for example, sound pretty ‘out-there’ even by deathcore standards; the height of mania in those vocals impressively never reach a significant level of embarrassment, despite how absurd they sound. Hell, “Sever” starts with straight-up harsh noise.

However, the introduction of ‘clean’ vocals (i.e. non-screamed/growled) starting with “Spiral” signals an abrupt shift to a more moderate metalcore sound from there-on-out. Some of these comparatively accessible songs don’t sound too dissimilar to modern day butt rock & nu-metal fare: just remove the technical breakdowns and naughty words and I’m sure Methwitch would have at least one solid, radio-friendly jingle.

Still, I can’t shit on Indwell too much. Even the less daring tracks like “Exhale (Last Breath)” and the aforementioned “Spiral” are quite good; they’re not entirely without substance, at any rate. Moreover, the album’s production is really nice, with some killer low-end. I can’t help thinking it’s a little too long, though. Give it a shot if the idea of Sortsind crossed with Whitechapel trips your trigger. Or maybe Fleurety crossed with Job For A Cowboy? I don't know, these comparisons aren't making as much sense as I thought they would.

Other highlights include “Crimson Halo,” “Teeth like nails” and “Burn Victim.”
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Re: Reviews

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Utarm - Apocryphal Stories (2012):


Utarm is a familiar name to me, but for those who don't know, he's been making some of the noisiest, most screwed up-sounding black metal since 2004. As expected, Apocryphal Stories is creepy as fuck and savagely brutal, though Utarm’s work hardly qualifies as ‘black metal’ at this point: it’s more like an amalgamation of noise and drone wrapped around a skeletal, doomy DSBM framework. The discordant music box-like notes of the opening “Altetende Skaper” set an appropriate tone for the rest of the album, while “Above Death” brings it all to a fitting end with its harsh, penetrating feedback.

Notice that I only highlighted the beginning and closing tracks: what of the middle? Well, this is where the album falls flat for me. Every track, while thickly embellished with all sorts of disturbing noises, is essentially a minor variation of the same minimal, repetitive rhythm at its core. This makes the album a chore to sit through, because even if the textures change, the basic structural premise of each track is nigh-identical to that of the next track. You can only be fooled so many times with the same trick, so to speak; Apocryphal Stories only pulls this same trick five times, but all those times are spread out over nearly an hour, so it inevitably becomes quite predictable and old.

In other words, it’s just a bit too much: you can’t be at a 10 the whole way through and expect to build an unnerving atmosphere at the same time.
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Re: Reviews

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FYI, I'm going to be slowing down on these reviews, because at this point they're starting to eat into the time I need to address more pressing maters in my personal and professional life. I recently spent over an hour, perhaps two hours writing single a review (can't remember for what), and that simply can't keep happening. I've also been thinking about publishing reviews i.e. making a little money on the $ide; even if that turns out to be a wild goose chase, I'm still listening to new [to me] music constantly. I just need to pull back on analyzing it as hard as I have.

Anyways,

David Szymanski - Iron Lung OST (2022):


A short but effective original soundtrack to the indie horror video game of the same name, created by the same David Szymanski. Lots of deep, dark ambient textures augmented by unsettling metallic noises of ambiguous origin.

I can’t think of any substantial negatives aside from the brief length. I’m fairly ignorant when it comes to judging the technical skill of ambient music compositions, so it may sound amateur to some of you: all I know is, I really enjoyed it.

If you like the soundtrack for Doom 64 or Super Metroid, you'll dig this.

Fun fact: Mr. Szymanski made another game called Squirrel Stapler, a hunting simulator where you staple dead squirrels to your wife's skinless corpse until you meet god... you heard me right.
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Re: Reviews

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Otoboke Beaver - Super Champon (2022):


A modern-day Japanese girl punk group that appears to quickly be gaining traction internationally. The colorful, j-pop-like aesthetic of the band had me concerned I’d be in for a heavily curated corporate pop punk experience, but these girls seem to be the real deal: this isn't another Puffy AmiYumi-type scenario.

While I find their shrill vocals hard to endure at times, the instrumental performances are all super solid; they share little in common with the noisy chaos of past j-punk acts like Confuse or The Swankys, but they carry a similar energy and, more importantly, are solid punk rock bangers regardless.

This is another group worth keeping an eye on. Maybe they will eventually water-down their sound but I doubt it. I can only see them getting more popular from here on out.
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Re: Reviews

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good song ^^

listened to some of the iron lung album... comes off really egotistical, which is funny: look at me mum I make video game music! why not?
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Re: Reviews

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Yeah, your video game music was much better :roll:
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Re: Reviews

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FAP wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 5:56 pm Yeah, your video game music was much better :roll:
it's just unusual, not something you associated with talented musicians.
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Re: Reviews

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You go ahead and make your own game with an original score, then you can tell us all about ‘talent.’
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Re: Reviews

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FAP wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 6:19 pm You go ahead and make your own game with an original score, then you can tell us all about ‘talent.’
and you do the same before you review it? whatever man.
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