Liturgy / Oval [coll] – [Thrill Jockey Records]

Max Level   6/14/2011   12-inch, A Library

A limited edition (1000 copies) split that seems sort of an odd pairing.
Liturgy stretches out with a side-long piece that starts with five minutes of a punishing D chord, then moves into more experimental territory with tribal beats and pulsing electronics, then a thrash section with an orchestral feel, ending with a weird chanting thing. It’s pretty awesome and absolutely worth 20 minutes of your time.
On the flipside, Oval (Markus Popp) gives us a loud 6 minute mixture of fractured drums, keyboards, and electronics, followed by three short tracks of about 1 minute each, featuring what sounds like a guitar played percussively in the manner of Fred Frith. I didn’t really connect with the random-sounding Oval material, so for me the Liturgy side is the clear winner.