Track-by-track

Alex Spalding – I’m Going to Die // NMMREM XX

Listening Alex Spalding’s newest effort I’m Going to Die based on his previous solo album Amos in Flames, may come as shock. The gentle electronics of Amos in Flames are gone and as a replacement, we have vast, heavy industrial. The sound doesn’t have a pinch of humanism in it. It is more reminiscent of deteriorated buildings rising from a deserted Soviet town. Harsh electro assault with some noise elements, dark beats, lots of dynamics and occasional melodies. I dig!

The beginning of the album is such a middle finger, Driver is a suitable intro with its harsh electronics but second track I’m Going To Die seems to be the real driver there, as it for sure will drive a lot of listeners away. The third track Re-program is what really starts the album. Judging by the trackname even the artist seems to be aware of that. In the half-way of the song the harsh beat and beeping suddenly halt to an ingenious noise-assault break which leads to an evil groove straight from the top. If you turn death metal riffs into electronic beats, this is what it could sound like.

Another notable track follows soon. Ugly with its more multidimensional evil groove. My favourite of the album. Very Alex Spalding-like a few very short, ok fillups Ender and Samäel balance the way to Bizzy In The Mix. An almost 6 minute track. It holds its ground remarkably well, shifting enough to stay interesting. Surprisingly enticing, or like my girlfriend blurted while wandering in the room: “sounds like robots having sex”. The strong middle album is completed with Gridlock, its most notable feature; a brilliant groovebassline!

I needed some pictures to spice up the review

so here’s a diagram about the best times

to listen Alex Spalding’s I’m going to die

After Gridlock the quality doesn’t go down notably, perhaps it is surroundings which become familiar as most of the rest float through without boring and without boring itself in memory. Except, goodness on the 10th track, Robotics, and the centerpiece of the album (more like fuck-you-piece) I’m Going To Die (Full Version). Not bad for a 23 MINUTE NOISE TRACK, but I cannot see how a 23 MINUTE NOISE TRACK wouldn’t be skipped when I’m enjoying my industrial.

The sound, and the beats are enjoyable, but the problem is, it continues all album long. The album would love a bit more variation, like the organic bass line of Gridlock, or eardrum busting à la Re-Program. Not surprisingly the best tracks come from the beginning.

If you are into dancing in factory halls with your gasmask on, while stabbing cybergoths in the face; this is your stuff. Or if you’d like to hear how close to Metal electronic music can be, try it out. The industrial metallish tinge brings in mind the degradiation of Eastern block at its worst. Decline is beautiful. I heard in Ukraine there is a festival in an old Nuclear power plant. Maybe someone should book Alex Spalding?

7½/10

A Free download album as always: http://archive.org/details/SPNet076-AlexSpalding-ImGoingToDie (only 56 downloads are you kidding me?)

Track-by-track

1. Driver

Beatwork seems to be just emerging, a fitting sound for an intro. Thematically brings in mind Kanellos’ In A Breath (http://archive.org/details/Siro584Kanellos-DestroyMusic; to be reviewed soon). Like the beat is behind something taking the top out of it.

2. I’m Going To Die (LP Version)

Short enough to listen, still skipping it half of the time but it also provides a giggle now and then.

3. Re-program:

First it is catchy, then it busts your eardrums with noise, you may feel angriness rising up, but it is very shortly turned into aggressive euphoria as the next beat is even catchier. The beat switch with a noise-assault break in between is ingenious.

4. Ender

A good progress to a beat and a melody, but simply worse than Re-Program and Ugly.

5. Ugly:

Multidimensional evil groove explodes near one minute marker to a 3D headphone experience.

6. Samäel

A Random idea thrown in the midst.

7. Bizzy In The Mix

Robots having sex.

8. Gridlock

Bores in the beginning but then a groove bass bores itself in. Through all industrial layers it sounds absolutely wonderful to hear some organic-like instruments.

9. Stabbing Death

Very odd, Alex Spalding’s fetish for noise is apparent on this one. Lots of heavy steelwork.

10. Robotics

A robotic noisevoice seems to repeat my first name!?! Possibly for this, Robotics takes its place on the top of the album.

11. Gauge

Very beat oriented. Beat as a main drive and melody. I feel the beat is a bit alone, it might fancy a helping hand. Still works and surprises await.

12. Rotting

Great flow from Gauge, its aborted little brother.

13. Alex Spalding – I’m Going To Die (Full Version)

The centerpiece of the album. 23 minutes of noise, more like fuck-you-piece. I sat through it once, was entertained, annoyed and laughed. Good times. Never again. Funnily in this noise track there is a catch! A repeating “chorus” sort of! Voice repeating “I’m going tooo diiiiieee” at probably 50 times during the length of the track. I find myself trying to sing along with it but the voice cuts of abruptly half the time. Works well listened a few minutes at a time randomly.

14. Colder Than You

Ambience, steel girder tamping while grand factorylines mechanically move on… Over 5 minutes but I never have any hurry in skipping it. On the other hand I can never recall what happened in it either.

Lauren Bousfield – Locked Into Phantasy // NMMREM XVII

One of the releases I’ve been most anticipating this year is here, Lauren Bousfield’s Locked Into Phantasy, actually released in 2012. I expected it to come with the name Nero’s Day At Disneyland, thus the delay. Peculiarly former Mr. Brock Bousfield of Nero’s Day At Disneyland seems to have, err. found something within and is now Lauren Bousfield.

Taking away that Lauren is a multisex name, Locked Into Phantasy still sounds very feminine. It also sounds more “artistic” than Bousfields’ previous releases and features a lot of female vocals. Last.fm user CupOfSquirrels put it best in last.fm “it (Nero’s Day At Disneyland) ultimately felt like a guy pissing about on a synth”. I usually try to stay as far as possible from Urolagnia, but I personally loved the way Nero’s Day At Disneyland “pisses about on a synth”.

Bousfield has moved on to a logical direction and further lessened the breakcore elements on this album. “Locked Into Phantasy” is mainly just odd electronic indie pop. Melodies are similar to old releases of Nero, but where is the beat! I do not feel the kick I get from Nero’s Day at Disneyland, lots of the fun is missing, even the slight melancholia is often lackluster. The release feels more plastic. I reckon it is still alright, if you happen to like indie pop. I usually don’t.

Putting my listen count above 10 I finally grasped the wood from the trees. Most tracks have about half of material that I like and half that I do not, which takes the mat under the whole track. Good example being Pulling Down Never. The intro vocals take badly on my nerves, then all the sudden we get a mindblowing chorus. It develops to a bridge, that seems to lack a bit of beat but is still solid. Then back to nervewrenching wailing. Sum up: fucking annoying verse; all the rest great.

The record is definitely not without goodness. The title track is just wonderful; and it does sound exactly like Nero’s Day at Disneyland. Also thumbs up also to Seraphim Sliding Backwards that really is a simple track with some melodic goodness. Still took over 5 times to open up for me. It contains only mildly annoying elements.

I would enjoy this release a lot more without the vocals. It is a similar situation than with Nero’s Day At Disneyland’s first album “Attention Shoppers”. It contains mostly terrible vocals but its overall craziness makes the bad vocals up a lot better than the artistic tinge on “Locked Into Phantasy”.

I hope 10 years from now this EP is thought as a misstep or an experiment which wasn’t complete yet, but helped to fruition a new style for Bousfield. I appreciate that it was released under a different pseudonym, the pieces are very familiar, but they form a new sound.

6+/10

The artist shared a mediafire link to freely download the release on his facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/laurenbousfieldanyever/posts/348796375218823

If you feel like paying it is also available in bandcamp for rather cheap 7$ price: http://laurenbousfieldanyev3r.bandcamp.com/album/locked-into-phantasy

I would recommend that you rather grab his earlier release, one of my all time electronic music favourites, 7 $ is a steal: http://laurenbousfieldanyev3r.bandcamp.com/album/from-rotting-fantasylands

Track-by-track:

1. The Ropes Our Nights Were Laid Across, Pulled Taut

Good intro, its already evident that the percussions are in a smaller role than with Nero. Still solid.

8-/10

2. Seraphim Sliding Backwards

I do not understand how it took me over 5 listens to realize it is a great track. The female/child vocals are a lot less annoying here than in other tracks. The 0.31 starting melody is one of the top points of the album.

8½/10

3. Pulling Down Never

Here the downfall begins, the intro vocals take on my nerves then all the sudden we get a mindblowing chorus bridge, that seems to lack a bit of beat but still solid. Then back to nervewrenching wailing. Sum up: fucking annoying verse; all the rest great.

6/10

4. That Was Everything That I Owned

Glad you do not own it anymore, now kill it before it rises. I am glad that the abomination that laments in the intro does not resurface and the vocals develop near the best that this album has. Still, they are sub-par, and the track balances on the edge of skippable. Piano melody is unarguably good.

4½/10

5. Locked Into Phantasy

Among the very best Bousfield tracks of all time. Only Lauren Bousfield track I plan to regularly play to my friends (among with big bunch of Nero’s tracks). Probably Bousfield’s most accessible and catchy track together with “Child Protective Service Theme Song”.

10/10

6. A Tiny Streak Of Daylight (with Judy Balmin)

Only track I skip instantly. Makes me want to murder hipsters.

1/10

7. Two Swans Duct Taped To The Side Of The Coke Machine

First 40 seconds promises we may have a great one coming up, then on comes this backwards childvoice. I can’t stand it.

6/10

8. Blown Blooms

Extremely memorable intro, alright bridge. Then another wailing chorus; unfortunately this disappointing turn of events is continued furthermore on a large portion of the track. The glitchy piano outro would surely be lovely if my mind wasn’t still dampened by the chorus.

6/10

Fuck Your Speakers VOL 2 Disc 4 // NMMREM VI

Narrow-minded Metalhead reviews experimental music – VI

[TFR366] Fuck Your Speakers Double Header Part II Disc 4

Confusing = Entertaining Part II

A review with the most different sequels i’ve ever written I

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Fuck Your Speakers 2 – Disc 4 – Delicate Porcini-Flavoured goggles track-by-track first impressions (part 1?)The next part of Fuck your Speakers Double Header is sponsored by http://www.random.org, which im using to decide which disk i will review.  First part can be found here. Inserting numbers between 1 and 6 (the number of discs on Fuck your speakers) and pressing “Generate”.  “3, okay I reviewed that part already”. Pressing “generate” again. “3, meh, what are the odds to this?” “Generate” 4.

nate_judiI actually had a quick glance of the opening track, Nathan Watson’s Auf Deutsch, already. A very quiet 12 minute dark ambient epic I couldn’t really listen last time as i was playing Nhl 2004. It officially got into my “Listen later with headphones” -list, along with Mutant Beatniks’ drift (from CD 3). And yes, this is some really minimalistic shit,  with echoed german speech and other well, echoes, in the background. At about 7 minutes it starts to gain more of an edge and scary sounds, jumping from one place to another. After continuing scary boosts for a few minutes it fades back to similar flow than in the beginning with only vague speaking. Fit with a well adjusted last.fm pic (look  a few inches to the left), bringing up, if possible nothing to relate to in regards of the track.

NB,PD! – Budapest In A Dyke’s Spike

Glitching, is that german again? Breakbeat. This is nearly the kind of stuff i was expecting of this release, but even this has a melodic stellar beat.

NB,PD! – Gentle Nibbling Of Goat Babies And The Jealous Ramming Of Goat Mothers

NB,PD! is quickly becoming the foremost contender of best track titles of the album, with indeed, Gentle Nibbling sounds. The track becomes something that I would expect to happen in a twisted upside down world of Jack Vance’s book, The Dying Earth. Adorable. Knowing that RedSK has multiple tracks in the end of the Disc 4, i am expecting him to take the challenge.

NB,PD! –  Trying To Tie A Ligature Around One Testicle

Definition of Ligature:

  1. A cord, wire, or bandage used for tying or binding.

I imagine the first 1:20 are the actual process of tying a ligature in the testicle and after it we progress to the inner feelings of the other testicle, who seems to have quite a groove on. Horny, perhaps? The second part of the track is pure testicular love. Very different than the first half.

Omajinaakoos – Aegrus

Noise rock? Quite groovy beginning with a riff hinting you to hit the highway, and melodic leads, er, improvised? The sounds are good, musty, thick and dirty. The track seems to just skip from one part to another incoherently. At 2:26 we can hear a vague keyboard melody in the back, along with the oncoming boredom of the listener. 2:55 minute mark suddendly puts in a black metal melodic lead, with slow drumming. Honestly that part could be a good basis for a song, very potential. It ends to a lead which almost manages to be good but avoids it somehow. Then a basic riff offering nothing special. I love the band title i love the song title, i just wish the song had something more compact to offer.

Pheonix FM – Cougar Town

Pheonix is a common typo, i suppose the artist is really Phoenix FM. First sounding like cheap folk, but having an uplifting chorus with harmonica. One thing lacking, whiskey, son drink more whiskey and then try singing again. The harmonica is joyously providing steady melodies throughout the song.

A-2097452-1308437323.jpeg.jpgPigeon Cadaver – Just the ordinary Terror

Speedcore, with a melodic glitchbeat. Memorable! Now we are addressing the best track so far. Turning a beat into a melody works. What helps the case is the nice logo of the project. Unfortunately the beginning beat which was clearly the most memorable part of the track doesn’t repeat. It had a making of a fine chorus. Son, your track just needs a more coherent structure.

Pigeon Cadaver – Rhythmic Hetzjagd Action Terror

I have to admit the first love of Pigeon Cadaver wears off quite quickly…

But it comes back as quickly! Very African-spirited beat and a similar promising glitchy chorus at about 0:50 than in the first track. If we have some repetition this time, we are heading towards very memorable.

Pigeon Cadaver – Danphy Fanpy

I can imagine listening Pigeon Cadaver for an entire album. The atmosphere created by such beat oriented music is extraordinary when you are used to not having the beat as the main instrument.

Danphy consists of a hardhitting heavy metal-like beat with a small vague african voodoo vibe. Some doom interludes to launch a what? Galloping beat!? Again the great beats are a bit wasted of having no repetition of the most juicy parts, but another beat flowing after each other. Fluently, and definitely the track stays surprisingly interesting even without any melody.

Playing with nuns – Links to your parlante´s

Harsh Noise. A vision of an object trying to rise from liquid jelly: scratching on psychedelic colors the jelly reflecting glimmers. falls back inside the water, twists disproportionately to different directions. Ends midst of movement.

praytor – live your life

Ambient noise. Why not. Lots of intersting manouvers. Eclectic.

praytor – kogiga woodlands

For noise this is surprisingly calming. Fitting japanese samples and gentle white noise. Effortless.

praytor – melodii

Continues praytor’s ambient noise aspects, with a real start up melodii reminding of a really fucked up wind instrument. The calming ambient wears off at 1.15 with evil sounds. Entertaining.

praytor – a name in death

The gentle white noise seems to be an ongoing topic of praytor.

praytor – gypsy curse

Yes there is a gypsy reminding melody in the background. Praytor is pleasant background music noise. Hell in a perfect world in the elevators of any regular mall, you would listen Praytor.

Purulent Headache – Brutal EBM

Expecting something VERY brutal, but… Haha, brilliant laughs. Slow europop with cookie monster growling. Another thing i never imagined of existing. Reminds a lot of a band called Nightsatan and one of their main idologies: “Laser metal or horror pop”.

Purulent Headache – Clot of seminal fluid

Purulent Headache is a truly thrilling project! Oh my god, what a deep growl! Getting even lower than Demilich (oldschool death metal band from the 1990s). Another thing i did not know was possible. At least not naturally… I reckon this growl must be edited, Demilich got pretty far down, without any editing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxizB02d0gE) growling starting at 0.30.

Raiding The Crimson Tides – From A Grave (Feat Falcon Pawnch!!!)

Death metal and deathcore mixtured. The sounds are nice and muddy, except for the machinized drums. The deep growling is competent, the higher is clearly a notch down, though maybe it is just the deathcore aspect in that sound which brings it down for me. 1.27-2.00 offers an original breakdown with good guitar and synth melodies entwining. Unfortunately only for a short while as that was clearly the best moment of this track and showed that there is promise. The chorus and the synth melody are not very exceptional, however the synth manages successfully to avoid the worse casio sound.

A good break amidst all the completely electronic music. Will i listen this song another time? Probably once.

RedSK – Acoustics And LSD Part 2 (Feat. TJ Greggs & Lady Cumdumpster)

A guy playing off-tune guitar, laughing. The melody closes off being on tune but manages to avoid it. Idiotic. The 2:19 part is awesome. Clearly lots of fun (for about 5 seconds). I started laughing even before the music burst out of laughs. This is not ominous but Im sure this stuff would terrify any basic person on LSD. Im surprised if they weren’t terrified themselves.

RedSK – Live Segment Beat Up Tape 1

Rising soundwave sliding pitch shift featuring inhuman cookiemonster

RedSK – Pretty Asian Painted Toenail (RedSK Remix)

Wrap the ace toaa toaa wrap the ace tooaatoaaa. This IS ominous.

RedSK – I Wanna Fuck That One Chick That Screams In Iwrestledabearonce

THIS is the very essence of Redsk’s noise-sound. Raping loud soundwaves which are repeating in small sections inside each other. Volume changes are notable, this time the quiet section is in the very end.. Song ends soon enough for you to want a relisten.

The collection is free to download at: http://archive.org/details/TFR366-VA-FuckYourSpeakers2

Fuck your spankers!

Fuck Your Speakers VOL 2 Disc 3 // NMMREM V

 

Narrow-minded Metalhead reviews experimental music – V

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I keep reading the title “Fuck your spankers”

[TFR366] Fuck Your Speakers Double Header Part I Disc 3

Confusing = Entertaining

Inspired by Kai Nobukos review in archive.org of Sirona Records MONOLITH compilation Sincerity Is The Key (http://www.archive.org/details/siro300VariousArtists-SincerityIsTheKey, free download *wink* *wink* *nudge* nudge*). I decided to do the same thing but cut out the “i love everything” -aspect and take the ground in my own pessimistic way.I am going to disregard my normal reviewing habits this time and make a double header of reviews solely based on first impressions of MAMMOTH compilation FUCK YOUR SPEAKERS VOL. 2, which has been released by multiple weblabels.

In this first part I am reviewing the record a day after listening and the second part will be a track-by-track review.

So if I will offend you by listening your tracks without the needed insight and deep constellation im sorry. (Actually im not but when you are angry you can pretend you didnt see this sentence). However collections like this tend to be listened only once or twice, after which the listener may or may not pick up a few favourite tracks for more constant repetition.

Fuck Your Speakers 2 – Disc 3 – Orange Nippled Hedgehogs

So I decided to pick up CD 3 and expectactions didn’t surely rise when I noted that the tracks are in alphabetical order. After discussing this with an anonymous internet person (anonymous cause im not sure he wants his opinion public) it seems im not the only one who considers that a cheap option. By the way the person was tooth_eye.No, Disc 3 doesn’t actually have a name but the title looks better that way.

With heavy heart I have to admit that I was very pleasantly surprised of the quality. Expecting more pure noisechaos the instant highlight was the wondrous glitchy vibes of Assassins in the Sky by Kanellos.

The variation, interest and weirdly even quality of FYS Disc 3 seemed notable and along with Kanellos top moments include brilliantly promising Godflesh-esque industrial metal by Marc Broude. To go with that Lucky Oddy’s Wet Fuzz (2011 Mix), which for me is just plain fun with stupid vocal-performances, making it even funnier. Is the guy really singing the extremely high-pitched vocals 1:08 onwards. Or is it a melody?

Lord of Sp33d’s entertaining nintendo-speedcore piece also provides some giggles. A harsh beat with a Nintendo-melody always brings a smile on my face. I will also send cheers to “Umilaj Czas Czy Pedofil To Szum Widelczykowy Kutas”, actually mainly cause I fucking love the sound of Polish letters. I cannot really be the only one who finds Polish extremely fascinating, especially when theres 4-5 consonants in a row. And hey the track itself also sounds clearly above average noise with lots of stuff happening.

Im likewise quite sure that mECHONATHEREG’s Activate Damage’s main riff is stolen from Doom! And I love that riff. Instant kicks! Otherwise the track belongs to the weaker side of the entity mainly because of the annoying vocals. I know, I must be a fucking sovinist as I can rarely stand screaming female punk / indie / vocals sang with attitude. However the male vocalist isn’t making things any better. Talking about vocal performances, Machinoir = nice chaotic arrangement, but weak drum sounds and deathcore vocals, no thanks. Another vocal style I cannot stand.

The second mECHONATHEREG, Snipe hunt has a CRUSHING and so professional main riff it sounds like its stolen from somewhere. Unfortunately, this song either, is instrumental. After mechetaeytaqolgrep comes up Mitä? with two oddities. These tracks stand in the midst of the crushing sextet of Marc Broude, mECHONATHEREG and Mortal Void, making them largely inefficient.

Picking up the other weakest pieces is also surprisingly easy. The lovelily disgustingly named Lady Cumdumpster’s Mothafucka!!! (Feat. Chasing Stupid) feels to have already reached the stupidity. Do I have to mention that her last.fm profile picture looks awfully out of place for such an artist name? Is that two 16 year old chicks singing Elton John? On second though. if that or similar indeed is the case the picture suddendly became fucking amazing.

Out of the blue. Mortal Void The Great Pretending sounds fucking solid on the second go, but on the first I got too overwhelmed by again, Last.fm. Just look at this artist-description (I cut the samples freely this is not the whole text):

“What is a mortal void?
It exists within a soul

It creates and destroys.
It loves and hates.
It lives and dies.”

Seriously. Only the French can come up with artistic shit like that and Mortal Void isn’t even French. Funnily, not seeing the Last.fm, my girlfriend commented that Mortal Void sounds like bodybuilding music imagining a big guy lifting weights and grunting. Not a far fetched image though im not sure if the body building-type can relate to Mortal Void’s poetic imaginary. Probably they can as I cannot and im skinny as fuck.

Mutant Beatniks’ drift also drifted largely past (lamest pun of the day) me as the huge volume difference to Mortal Void ate its power. Again, after second listen sounds like it could grow to be a fine track.

However none of the weaker tracks are without merit and some in their weakness actually provide a giggle to us fine folk who enjoy our bad music with the good. Entertaining entity with lots of variation, could even work as a background music for beer-drinking. For an open minded person wanting to have a mindfuck this CD is a great place to start. Mind expanding drugs may come next but don’t ask me where to get them.

Overall score: 7/10

Free download: https://archive.org/details/TFR366-VA-FuckYourSpeakers2