Estuary English

How amazing is it that both of the strongest members of the pioneering English power electronics band Whitehouse would release full lengths in the same year. How about that those albums are what many consider the strongest works in their respective projects to date? Mr. Bennett has been busy sitting on his laptop whipping out 12" after 12" of his "afronoise" project, Cut Hands. An interesting concept, I guess, but one I never took a lot of interest in. There's a very big blur of noise and techno/house music nowadays that is often times piss poor to my ears, but with a few very occasional exceptions. And I will admit the new CH record, "Festival Of The Dead" is at least decent and the most captivating bunch of songs I've heard from William so far. Meanwhile the second nut of Whitehouse, Philip Best, has stuck tremendously close and loyal to the roots of his greatest band with his side project, Consumer Electronics. Those roots being loud, abrasive, monolithic walls of harsh noise, perverse feedback abuse, and strong lyrical vitriol shouted out at demandingly fast rates. Here is their latest 2xLP, "Estuary English".

I probably will be playing a little catch-up with 2014, since this year has so far not given me very many incredible records yet. When "Estuary English" came out at the end quarter of 2014, it instantly ended on my best in the top 5 of the year list (which I've never posted, my bad). It is a brutal, hateful, diverse piece of electronic filth. Finely crafted and delivered with masterful performances by one of the genre's pioneers. This new chapter of Consumer Electronics is also a triumphant welcoming of the newest members of this unit. Philips now-wife, Sara Froelich, and Russell Haswell. Both doing a fare share of electronic work.

The bulk of "Estuary English" and it's 25 minute run time is Mr. Best and Co. performing their tried and true sound exactly as it should be. And time and age has only given Phillip more grit in his throat and more provocative, topical opinions. Tracks like "Affirmation", "Come Clean", and the title track
are brutal, punishing power electronics harkening back to the wonderful 90's Whitehouse records. And Philip sounds more dominant and frustrated then he ever has. Proving still that he is one of the genres more consistent and legendary performers.

Now of course, "Estuary English" could have been just another Philip Best PE record, and that would have honestly suited me just fine. By this point, they could all probably bang out albums like this in their sleep. Which eventually can probably make a musician feel a little stagnant. The array of sounds an influences on this were upon first listen surprisingly large. The brilliantly minimal opener "Teknon", is a jarring track comprised of just thuddy bass blips and searingly aggressive vocals. Immediately I think of Whitehouse tracks like "Cut Hands Has The Solution". The centerpiece of this whole record, "Sex Offender Boyfriend" has the most ferocious vocal performance I've ever heard from Philip Best. Gone are the strongly enunciated, macho vocal jabs. Lyrics are toppling over each other here, spit in flying in your face, teeth are being gnashed and ground as everything is trying to get out at once. It's the vocalings of someone literally fuming with blind rage, absolutely astonishing. This is also the first taste of CE playing around, surprise, beats! A much more traditional, industrial style thankfully, with strong influence taken from classic Throbbing Gristle records.

There does seem to be some sort of underlying concept and narrative on here. There are many jabs at English society, noise artists, and modern trends. From what I can loosely gather, the main protagonist is a younger woman who eventually slips deeper and deeper into the darker sides of the rave and club scenes. Which could explain the track "Co-Opted", a pulsing heavy house track with the only lyric being "Co-opted by cunts!" yelled over and over again. I imagine it be a track with sarcasm entirely in mind. Honestly, it's probably the albums weakest moment, mostly because it tracks on to an insufferable 5+ minute run time. The end track, "Air Lock" describing "these final moments", perhaps signifying the end, or the point of no return for our main character.

Presentation wise, "Estuary English" is stunning. Packaged in a beautiful, glossy gatefold jacket, and two thick pieces of wax cut at 45 RPM. The first run came with a CD of the album mastered spesifically for that format. My CD isn't pictured, but there's not much to show. 

You can thankfully still pick up this album pretty easily. It's by far one of the most mandatory noise records of last year, and another proud achievement in Consumer Electronics career.

~VII

Cackhanded

Without a doubt one of my biggest obsessions and loves in the New York noise crowd is Limbs Bin. A solo power electronics/drum machine abuse punk project lead by Brooklyn resident Josh Landes. Someone I am just blessed to have met and developed a friendship with. His extreme passion and VERY broad taste in all things loud, obnoxious and electronic from PE to synth pop, has been very inspiring and just an all around joy to soak in vicariously. Through one-on-one communication or his radio show, Infinite Distortion. Of course this means Josh has been doing splits with some of the most exciting and interesting bands in the worldwide noisecore scene. The most recent crowning achievement is this gorgeous split cassette with the UK's biggest noisecore shitstorm, Two Million Tons Of Shit. Limited to 54 copies.

I've already done a full review of this tape over at Operation Grindcore, so this post will cater more towards the pretty pictures/tape porn crowd. Actual music aside (both sides are total dynamite), this is a very good looking and sounding tape. Released on what I believe is Mr. Landes's own label, Follow Me Into The Laser Eye.

Very professional work was put into this cassettes production. It has a very crisp, clean dubbing that showcases TMTOS's psychedelic racket, and Limbs Bin's expansive power electronics collage piece perfectly. Love this cover art too, it reminds me of some incredible, batshit, sci-fi propaganda movie from the 60's. Apparently 42 copies were on black covers with the remaining 12 on white.

Limbs Bin is on a seemingly never ending spree of releasing splits with all sorts of noise and grind artists and groups, and I'm positive each one will not disappoint. TMTOS are seemingly lacking any real internet presence, so I sadly have no idea what they are working on presently. This tape is seriously worth seeking out though, decalcify that pineal gland and let the noise seep into your skull.

Listen/purchase: HERE

~VII

Hot Poison

One of my biggest, mushiest, lovey-dovey music crushes is John Wiese's prolific, monumental noisegrind/harsh music concrete band Sissy Spacek. A swirling, ever evolving and experimenting unit which has been on a roll of consistently putting out grindcore rooted 7"s over the past couple of years. Due to my deeply saddening lack of online purchases, I'm still missing quite a chunk of SS records. However, the fantastic "Lead Their Exit" EP has managed to find it's way into my loving hands. Black vinyl, 45 RPM, limited to 300.

Sissy Spacek is one of my true loves because in addition to their constant experimentation, I think they are one of the purest examples of what quality noisegrind should be. Mr. Wiese's mastery of sound manipulation instantly lends itself to inventive ways of actually incorporating noise into the grind, and drummer Charlie Mumma's brilliantly stripped down style or 100% pure blasting and nothing else. He will play literally just blasts. it's a recipe for perfect noisegrind. At least when Sissy Spacek does it.

This is a notable release for Sissy Spacek for a couple of reasons. Most notably is the entry of new vocalist Sara Taylor, screaming her throat out as the replacement for the usually present Corydon Ronnau. Sara's vocals are equally raw and monotone, sounds a lot like Madison from Cloud Rat actually. She is also partnered with the brutal metal screams of Charlie, which is pretty different for the band. Sissy Spacek really have becoming a devastatingly tight band, under all the noise and lo-fi production. Slowly creeping closer and closer and toying more and more with the more straight forward grindcore style of writing.

I'd say that "Lead Their Exit" is one of the more focused and well executed of the recent batch of 7" EPs. For the short time length, they add a lot of variety and a good amount of individuality to these tracks. Side B opens up with the less then a minute power electronics track "Oils Of Your Eyes", before going into two BRUTAL Arsedestroyer covers. It's a pulverizing display of Sissy Spacek at their most straight forward and aggressive, ending with the most structurally complicated track "Decrypt". These last few tracks are the best examples of Charlie and Sara dueting with each other, and it's an incredible assault. 

Very good packaging in a sturdy glued sleeve. My favorite!! No insert, and all the infor given is printed on the back.

~VII

Morte, Amore, Morte

I'm ashamed to say that counting this record, I only have 2 physical releases from Sam McKinlay, aka The Rita. HNW pioneer who's status as the genre's supreme lord perseveres to this day. A personal favorite, and one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to creating harsh noise wall music and finding sounds. The level of true passion and effort Sam puts into finding his sound sources is staggering. And his incorporation and use of fetish in aesthetic and audio is legendary. This is a suitable wax partnership with the incredibly prolific Serbian noise wall warrior Dead Body Collection. All on black vinyl, 33 RPM.

I ordered this off of a random distro site, having no knowledge of this particular record. Any Rita is good Rita, ay? The thick, impenetrably heavy walls Sam is known for are here, kind of. Sounds to me like this recording is some of his rawer, less processed stocking worship. But without any proper information it's hard to determine. The low rumble, static crunchiness of this is texturally thrilling, but subdued. My personal preference of The Rita has always been his shark diving, aquatic landscape sourced recordings, which are pure punishing insanity. There's some good left and right channel interplay and variation of tones, but not much else to say.

Dead Body Collection fares a bit better on his side of this slab. "Morte, Amore, Morte", a track which proudly credits that there was no mastering done here. Cool? A windy, gushing white noise starts it off, which is quickly partnered with a top layer of brown, compressed static textures. Two elements that carry this track throughout. While this is also not a sonically mind-blowing offering, DBC won me over with the track's flow. A very nice mid-section which drops everything but the brown static, which sounds very anxious and invasive when it is the sole focus. Dropping into an ensemble of increasingly intense creepy walls. Good stuff.

Wonderful tidy packaging and presentation. A thick, glued sleeve with stark black and white fetish imagery, with a suitable lack of any information.

The Rita will apparently be coming to NY state this year with Richard Ramirez. I am so so excited!!!

~VII

Ski Mask

I remember gushing/complaining about how I wanted new Mellow Harsher records asap throughout the past couple years. A stupidly tough techy grind band from Wisconsin comprised mostly of peeps from SFN. Definitely not one of the most talked about groups in the genre, for whatever reason. But their impact and influence is present, most notably in newbies like Throat Slitter. Their excellent demo kept me happy for the length of time I waited for fresher jams. Lo and behold, my wish is double granted at the end of 2014 with two new tracks on Diseased Audio's "Bitter Cold Compilation". Which are so good they make me want to shitvomit blood chunks. And what's this? A split 7" with the outstanding Internal Rot! Mellow Harsher's new recordings make me want to rip out my guts and force-feed them to wild animals. While I sadly have neither of those, thought I'd give the 7" repress of the demo a little more light. Not sure how many were pressed, 33 RPM.

If you've heard SFN, and there's no reason you shouldn't have poser, then you'll smell what MH are cooking up real quick. Insanely precise, rapid, and visceral fastcore/grindy madness, with the helpful rawness from the "demo factor". Some of the most impressive and devastating vocal tradeoffs too. These guys seriously "write" their songs, honing them into calculated blast storms. Two of my favorite songs from this were rerecorded for the Internal Rot split, "Ski Mask" and "Stinge". They are all the more painful.

Always loved the art on this. Crude, sleazy, and strange. 625 Thrash and Give Praise Records did an excellent job and gave this the proper package. A nice sturdy, glued sleeve, insert, clean art, and good looking center labels. 

I'm drooling for the Internal Rot Split.

~VII

Yahweh Brings Us To This Hell

Every time I head up to Buffalo, I always end up going to someone's basement and seeing a million new bands that spring up and often times dissolve just as often. That city is without a doubt my favorite breeding ground for excellent bands in New York. Bands of all sorts, but of course I pay attention to the grittier stuff. The hardcore bands that come out of Buffalo always seem to have this unique, quirky edge to them. Sperm, an astonishingly good noisy/weirdo hardcore band, who I have in fact never seen and probably never will since they appear to be over. Only releasing one demo last year, and this cassette EP way early in the year, and ending on a Top 10 of the year high note. "Yahweh Brings Us To This Hell", cassette, no idea how many there are.

Sperm (awesome name), are an unusual little sore thumb in their particular genre. Definitely hardcore, that root is certainly firmly in place. The blown-out, noisy recording utilized is definitely fitting, and adds a constant layer of roughness to the music, even when the band is at their most soft. Amazing guitar tone, utilizing a delicious distorted trembelo effect. This added bit of sound makes simple things like feedback seem all the more twisted. The bass guitar, fully up front in the mix, it's the meat of this EP. Clangy, gainy, crushing.

"Yahweh's" first half is of the more traditional hardcore sound. Hard and semi metallic, with excellent, acid surf guitar riffs and leads. Certainly the kind of riffs that you have to search for to find in hardcore. The 2nd half is where Sperm really shows off their dynamics as songwriters. "Animal Life In The Demlurge", a song consisting of only a single bass riff and vocals, creating a very captivating and even beautiful sort of "ballad". Leading into the closing track, "Hyperporea", an instrumental sweetie pie of a song. I call the opening guitar lead the "Linkin Park riff". For some reason is just always reminds me of something from "Hybrid Theory" or some shit. Sperm are cooler then Linkin Park, I swear. Both of these sides of this bands sound are executed perfectly in my opinion. This has been on repeat in the household and on the Walkman during bus rides.

I've seen this around in distros. If you see it, cop it.

~VII

Voltage Drop

I've been waiting for this record for a while. Not only just to finally own it and hold it in my hands, but just for a grind record like this in general to spawn into creation. Gowl, an amazing, discordant quartet (a trio for this recording and all prior) from Connecticut put out their second 7" EP, "BLURRR" this year. An incredibly bold, stomping next step into grind supremacy that is stronger and more punishing then their first 7", the "Buzzbox" EP.  This is a masterpiece. Black vinyl, 33 RPM, limited to 500 copies.

I can't think of a more appropriate name for this record then "BLURRR". Yes, with the all caps and extra two R's. This record is so crazy that a misspelling like that is totally proper. The whole recording is a blur. A cramped, claustrophobic, atonal, distorted, messy blastfest. But it just so happens to be the best EP I've heard all fucking year. What Gowl achieve on this record is complete deathy, noisegrind perfection unlike really any kind I've heard before. The bass and guitars are constantly fighting each other over domination in the mix, creating a torrential storm of inventive grinding. What riffs that burst out and survive the incredible muck are crushing, catchy, disgusting, and chunky. Even when Gowl uses the same riffs and patterns we've heard a million times they still make it sound distinctly their own. There are just too many great moments to coose from on this record. Like the blasting middle part of "Voltage Drop", or the bass string bends in "Adventures In Blues Traveling". Uniquely chaotic is an appropriate description I think. 

Of course this record wouldn't be the same without the incredible shining star of the whole thing, the drummer. Holy shit, this guy gives one of the best drum performances I've heard all year. Yes he's insanely fast, that's a given, but more importantly he has style! The accents, tampers and even the grooves he utilizes are always interesting and add that perfect extra bit of personality. Even his blasts, though they are fast, still feels like it could all fall apart at any second from trying to keep the tempo. It's that bit of raw, lively tension that enhances this records enjoyability and delivery incredibly.

Excellent packaging on this as well. Mr. Sean Bovine made this look just like a classic Bovine Records release. Instantly reminds me of the first couple ANb records or the Spazz/Floor split. The unique cover art fits in beautifully as well. No idea what's going on on the cover. 

Only a few things this year equal up to the awesomeness of "BLURRR". Buy this from the band and please support them. A full length is on the way, I hope this world is ready.

~VII