http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2508987218/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=1/transparent=true/‘III’ by MICROFL▼RSCNCE is a crumbling edifice of sound; flakes of noise falling from a forbidding cliff wall of crackle, writhing rusted electronics and jumbled voices. The music swirls in a thick psych-broth, individually recognisable elements bubbling to the surface occasionally before dissipating into the murk: snatches of Bollywood strings, stamping fireworks, tape hiss, thick chords… Continue reading MICROFL▼RSCNCE – III (Rano)
Dead Neanderthals / Dead Days Beyond Help with Alan Wilkinson – 3rd February – The Vortex, Dalston, London
Two contrasting approaches to ecstatic noise were on display in a stunning double-bill at The Vortex; the venue name entirely appropriate for the relentless churning fury of the two groups. Alex Ward (guitar) and Jem Doulton (drums) of Dead Days Beyond Help were tonight reinforced by Alan Wilkinson (saxophones). Their set was full of racing… Continue reading Dead Neanderthals / Dead Days Beyond Help with Alan Wilkinson – 3rd February – The Vortex, Dalston, London
Sophie Cooper – Labyrinth (Exotic Pylon) & Split tape with Ignatz (Tor Press)
http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1321817722/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=2/transparent=true/‘Labyrinth’ begins with ‘Hello Sophie’ – a series of answer machine excerpts, a babble of voices introducing the album, appropriate as the tape contains a wealth of ideas spliced with unravelling string. What follows is a subtle and captivating series of songs. ‘Separate Join Together’ is a haunted psychedelic swirl of guitar melody and gusts… Continue reading Sophie Cooper – Labyrinth (Exotic Pylon) & Split tape with Ignatz (Tor Press)
Benedict Taylor – Striations (Subverten)
http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=230847106/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=2/transparent=true/‘Striations’ consists of ten viola miniatures alive with incident and motion; Benedict Taylor’s usual explorative tunnelling and instantly reactive playing is here allied with an often punk-like flippancy; small locked circles of repetition are sliced and discarded in arcing, spark-shedding violence. On ‘Striations’ Taylor again evinces the total control of his art that previous releases… Continue reading Benedict Taylor – Striations (Subverten)
Otomo Yoshihide – Piano Solo & Quintet/Sextet (OTOroku)
‘Piano Solo’ begins with a pure ringing feedback tone. A buzzing metallic hum begins to intrude. This, in turn, is buried in a corrugated rusty roar that vanishes as quickly as it arrives. This is all somehow done with a piano. Abandon hope all ye seeking any traditional piano signifiers; this is sculpted alien noise… Continue reading Otomo Yoshihide – Piano Solo & Quintet/Sextet (OTOroku)
Trio Riot – s/t (Efpi Records)
This self-titled debut from Trio Riot on Efpi Records is instantly engaging, launching into a halting, fumbling, rattling skronker. Its tight flurries of motion collapse into kit-troubling drum-explorations, moving into a punkish squall from the halfway point; the beats a hardcore oompah assault for the saxophones to writhe and boil over; the tone brazen and… Continue reading Trio Riot – s/t (Efpi Records)
Sarah Neufeld – Hero Brother (Constellation)
Beginning with a soft rumble, like wind over a microphone, Sarah Neufeld coos and shivers her violin to life, seemingly an intrinsic part of herself, coaxed into sound. This gentle awakening changes direction into the more purposeful title track; a creaking frantic, twisting beauty of a song; encompassing taut tension and a stomping beat, its… Continue reading Sarah Neufeld – Hero Brother (Constellation)
BLK w/BEAR – The Final Mapping of New Constellations (Little Crackd Rabbit Records)
‘The Final Mapping of New Constellations’ by BLK w/BEAR was grown from a request to make a version of ‘The Stars Look Down’ by Lost Harbour. Rather than limit their output to one track, the band have made an album-length radical interpretation of the source material; in the process creating something quietly amazing, in this… Continue reading BLK w/BEAR – The Final Mapping of New Constellations (Little Crackd Rabbit Records)
Boat-Ting: N.E.W. + Kay Grant/Matt Chilton + YND + Jazzman John – 6th January, Bar & Co, Temple, London
YND: Tom Jackson & Stephen CroweThe first Boat-Ting of the year convened at its usual berth of improvised goodness, a warmth in the post-Christmas January gloom. Moving from its fortnightly slot to the first Monday of each month, the reduction in frequency has done nothing to diminish its place as one of the best regular improv… Continue reading Boat-Ting: N.E.W. + Kay Grant/Matt Chilton + YND + Jazzman John – 6th January, Bar & Co, Temple, London
Ears For Eyes 