sick silent summer slum c12
[2006, ninth circle music]

sickness is chris goudreau (pictured left). he's also in v.d. with keith brewer of taint, and he runs the ninth circle music record label. sickness has been around for some time now, in one variation or another, starting back in the mid-80's.

new york's, by way of rhode island, dominick fernow is prurient (pictured below). he runs the hospital productions label, and recently opened up a record shop in new york. dom doesn't limit himself to making strictly noise music, he plays in the noise rock band vegas martyrs and was also involved in the rock inclined football rabbit. while dom certainly doesn't make accessible noise (ground fault release history of aids proves that), he's definitely a more popular name in noise music due to releases on higher profile labels like load and troubleman unlimited. having his load released cd reviewed by mainstream indie-whatever zine pitchfork media, certainly helped him gain more exposure.

i like both prurient and sickness a lot, so i was pretty excited to hear this one. plus, it's always seemed like dom is at his best when he's paired up with other noise artists. case in point, last year's cd reissue of the tape where he collaborated with richard ramirez and flatline construct, it was easily my favorite noise album of 2005. sick silent summer slum, in addition to being fun to say, teams him up with underground powerhouse sickness, and the results are terrific, if not really as harsh as i'd imagined it might be. the collaboration works with each artist taking one stereo channel. sickness has the left, prurient the other. a large portion of the noise on the tape is being made by prurient. a side pure pestilence stars up with a short prayer by sickness being matched with short blasts of noise by prurient. then a bit later we hear some screams by sickness over a minimal backdrop, while prurient stays with the short, random, fits of noise. the noise, for the most part, on the left side is a rumbling static one, but it's not overbearing, and it's more of a constant factor than the right, which seems to be in more of a complimentary style. works perfect. the flip side's i'll miss you when you're gone has more vocals from sickness over a minimal noise sound. right channel's, again, a bit more noisy, and this time it's the more constant sound. as the tape goes on there's distorted shouts from sickness as the noise gets harsher. the b side is definitely the noisier, and better side, in my opinion, but the release as a whole was a match made in noise heaven.

i had a hell of a time finding any album information for this tape, so i ended up emailing sickness and found out that this cassette came as a bonus with the first fifty copies of prurient's point and void disc. if you were lucky enough to buy the cd, i'm jealous, because this is a nice little tape that a whole lot of folks aren't going to get their hands on, which is a shame because it's damn good. my only real complaint is that it's so short. i think a twenty minute cassette would've been perfect, but it was free!...dammit.

I'll Miss You When You're Gone (from 4:01 to 5:38)

xavier
[2005, accretions]

santo subito are pretty much one or two poor life choices divorced from churning out slick and soulless sessions for ecm. on top of that, the bay area duo of steven dye (bassoon, homemade instruments) and milton cross (violin) both share what i'd consider warning signs for potential disaster; one tarentel member and a soundtrack composer... should be fucking awful, right? it should be on paper, but surprisingly it's worth tracking down in practice.

maybe i should note that said composer worked with the excellent dielectric minimalist all-stars and the tarentel-ite shares duties in the visual/musique concrete ensemble wet gate, both of which i assume loom a little larger over the album than soundtracks and post-rock.

the sound mastering is just as clear and (over?)polished as threatened, but the structure and performance are too unusual to let it slide into oblivion, with songs seeming just as likely to devolve into a double leopards-esque soup as they are to lapse into lilting romantic chamber jazz. whole trees in motion, for one, is saturated with vibrant dissonances which threaten to overwhelm and butcher brief melodic interjections, before sliding into the late-period steve reich of radiosonde. the jarringly insistent one minute broken element that counters gives you enough pieces to play with to reveal the major strength here; unpredictable balance. if things get too melodic it breaks down, things get too intimate and it unfolds into cavernous reverb, respectful quotes are tempered by blare.

the best moments seem to be informed as much by the local drone and improvised scene as by typically romantic and understated jazz gesture. they've definitely struck on something here, though i can't shake the feeling that imitators will try to capitalise and fail miserably; i'll go out on a limb and say it's possibly more a case of talented eccentrics than a particularly rich new vein to tap into. feel free to ignore that when the whole heavy-ecm scene blossoms though.

Clear Sky Model

fragile grace c30
[2005, trash ritual]

if climax denial hasn't become a more popular name in noise music yet, it could be due to the fact that he doesn't really seem to tour outside of the midwest. i'm sure putting out releases on higher profile labels like prurient's hospital productions (the basement bruises tape) will help his cause a bit. though, editions of 50 won't get the word out that quickly . anyway, climax denial is alex kmet from milwaukee, wisconsin. while he's a noise musician at his core, his music isn't that harsh. alex has a variety of methods for establishing his sound, ranging from using minimal electronics to create an unsettling ambient sound, to using vocals every now and then, also utilizing samples, but he's not afraid to throw on some noise for good measure, just not in an overdoing it sort of way. more often than not though, his pieces are about establishing a mood, and it's usually a dark one. it's also worth mentioning that he has one of the better project names in noise music. he should put out a split with contagious orgasm, why hasn't anyone thought of this yet?

before we get too far, i will say that fragile grace isn't for everyone, but it should be! a-side opener cutters sets things off with a decidedly dark tone, with alex sharing his little song about, you guessed it, girls who cut themselves for attention. apparently, alex isn't a big fan. speaking in a soft tone about meeting girls, having everything go well until you get them naked and notice that they're covered in hideous scars, and that if (they) really wanted to die, (they)'d do it right. as for the music itself, it's stark, what climax denial calls harmbient, with a minimal repeating drum pattern. good stuff. the third track, focus, is the real standout. here, there's distorted vocals buried underneath some static and high-pitched whines, then a repeating synthesized sound, add some feedback a bit later, and it's wonderful. the synth noise, kinda like a spacey warble, provides a nice, memorable addition to the track. next, things take a turn for the...prettier(?) on red pearls, which marries some harsher noise with a pretty sounding instrumental in the right channel. the panning, along with the different use of both channels, is a great touch. my girl's smile is another nice sounding piece, with an older vocal sample, almost operatic, with alex's distorted and undiscernable vocals layered over it. it's less than a minute and a half long, but it's nice to ending to a great first side.

the first track of side two, stitchbreath, brings us back into noisier territory, but climax denial's noise is a bit more interesting than your dime a dozen crushing wall of dense distortion and makes it a bit more enjoyable to sit through. the tape ends with the slightly disturbing prayer to the womb which has some dark sounding, minimal electronic noise and feedback, and alex, with distorted, reverbed, sinister sounding vocals which repeat mantra-like utterings like: let me drink from your eyes, keep me prisoner in your chest, wrap your legs around me, let me sleep in your lungs, and my personal favorites: let me drink from your fucking pussy and let me eat from your shit. be sure to play this one around children and old women for maximum effect.

for some strange reason, i'd put off getting around to listening to climax denial, probably busy listening to other things that didn't deserve as much attention. regardless, i'm glad that i finally gave this a listen. excellent tape, and as far as a lot of things in the noise field go, the few vocal tracks on fragile grace aren't that disturbing. lighten up.

Focus