Music Reviews

No Statik – “What Did You Give Away When You Gave In?” – [25 Diamonds]

whngr   4/27/2021   7-inch, A Library

Two charged female-fronted hardcore punk rock PXV(?) tracks on side a while side b is more of a electronically augmented instrumental breakdown/loop noise/rockploration groove. One should note, however, that each song on this 7″ is progressively chill with the caveat that the first track is the antithesis of restraint and decorum. 

 Fucking great cover art. 10/10

No Statik were extremely active, feverishly chucking out 13 releases during their 8 year stab at severity until their apparent conclusion in Los Angeles, 2018.

Condition – “Bombed Out” – [Rust and Machine]

whngr   4/23/2021   7-inch, A Library

Tempest of Death Worship

A wrathful incursion of berserker rage in the key of Hardcore with a spattering of noise elements. Chainsaws, taught toms, crushing, screams, tendons strain, tight af, twin guitar attack with aplomb, impossible tempo, blood coursing, palm mutes, a blinding flash of light before annihilation. Cohorts of Trash Talk, DNF, Smut, Scalped, Ritual Control, The Dark, Kommand, Lock, et al.
Los Angeles 2013

Kjetil Brandsdal – Untitled – [Drid Machine Records]

Max Level   4/13/2021   7-inch, A Library

Wobbly layers of gently ambient Norwegian noise with an insistent beat. Evidently it is to be played at 45rpm (although it doesn’t actually say that on it anywhere) to give you a nice concise three-minute experience, but I like it better at 33rpm, which offers a more dragged-out and woozy perspective. This 2019 release is a one-sided 7″ on clear vinyl with green and pinkish dots silk-screened on the reverse for a cool see-through effect, and the cardboard sleeve is printed on the recycled cover of some unknown record album. I love offbeat art-damaged stuff like this.

Controlled Death – “Requiem For The Boundless Flesh” – [Urashima]

whngr   4/6/2021   7-inch, A Library

Ambi-Idustrial Horror-Noise from Masonna

Not quite crushing noise in ten parts. Five seven inched singles with each side being at least five minutes of moderately uncomfortable beauty. Quiet enough to grab your attention and horrifying enough to keep it. 

Terrible vocals bend and twist through heavily distorted filters amidst an agitating and sometimes meditative backdrop of electronic abstractions. Echoes abound.

Controlled Death is one Masonna (Yamazaki Maso) of Osaka, Japan (originally Kyoto) who is part of the first wave of underground sound production and noise whose performances are notorious for their unpredictability. Connected with many diverse and bizarre projects including Christine 23, Space Machine, Bustmonsters, Flying Testicle (A collaboration of Masami Akita [Merzbow]), Acid Eater, and Angel’in Heavy Syrup, and manager of Jojo Hiroshige’s Alchemy Music Store until its recent closure.

One quick note on the housing for these lil’ demons, absolutely gorgeous laser etched black wooden box and an interior containing more black with gold foil accents limited to 308 copies.

Wood, Hank and The Hammerheads – “Use Me” – [Toxic State]

whngr   4/4/2021   7-inch, A Library

Taught, twangy, Punk/Garage/Rock from NYCity. Guitars swimming in reverb, emphatic pleas and vows, and a well rehearsed rhythm section mixed well with just a taste of yearning organ.

Sentimental with 3 fingers of mental. Devastating hooks that get buried in one’s brain and knead the memory, finding woozy moments of romance, passion, and hope (no longer present in this miserable volunteer). Four hot sticky cuts that pulse and sway like a heart that cares not that it will soon be broken. Fucking great, would bang.
One slightly tender FCC on A1

Sargeist – “Dark Embrace, The” – [Moribund]

whngr   3/26/2021   7-inch, A Library

Wintry Norse Valor

Black Metal from Finland. Cold, dark, and seething. This 2008 recording emphasizes drums and guitars and, sadly, is mixed well (I like mine’s RAAAW). However, still sounds crusty (like old snow) and emphatic though it slightly lacks that underground, cvlt quality that this miserable volunteer tends to be drawn to. Is that why this is the first Sargeist recording to be added to our library? Too mainstream? Too palatable? Are they cancelled due to their political beliefs? Dunno, but it slays well in its nice, tight, mildly offensive package. 

Glueams – “Glueams” – [Static Age Musik]

whngr   3/22/2021   7-inch, A Library

Pre-Grauzone ’79 female-fronted punk from Berne, Switzerland.

Fucking great. Raw, tight, high-energy Rock-‘n-Roll sung in their native tongue (Bernese). Jangly guitars, hand-claps, angry-dancy, fucking rad, and doesn’t sound at all dated to my floppity ears. 

Shoulda’ given this 7″ to Zero Gravity to discover what he would have written but I wanted to round out the other slightly harsh sounds I intend to add to our library this week.. It’s not Kleenex and they’re not X-ray Specs but they’re not tryin’ to be. They’re their own thing and I wish I coulda’ been there.
A bit of history exists online and in the enclosed booklet that mirrors what I understand to be the fledgling punk experience all over the world: friends go to see seminal (insert name here) band (in the case of Glueams, Sham69), forms own band and rocks it with vivacious aplomb, disbands and/or evolves (in our case the bassist and drummer leave to form Berne’s Grauzone) and their memory is lost to the annals of drug clouded, beer fueled history of our now slightly aged forbearers. This rerelease by Static Age Records includes a recently rediscovered song titled “Arsen” (Arsenic) with lovely throbbing bass, driving power-chords, and a sneer so fierce you can almost hear it through the angry barking vocals and the fog of time. One final note that deserves mentioning, Glueams is a meaningless word with an alusion to sniffing glue (as mentioned in the afore-mentioned booklet) “that was popular at the time”. So have a huff, and enjoy this stuff on your source for sticky fingers.

Bombardment – “Bombardment EP.” – [Destructure]

whngr   2/23/2021   7-inch, A Library

Bordeaux France, female fronted guitar driven five-piece hardcore punk.
Blazing, ripping, shredding, squealing onslaught of dystopian D-beat.

Havoc of detonation. 

Conscision, derision, precision.

Emphatic and brief, Bombardment EP. is a terse, vital expression of an established genre with chops and vision that will get the coldest of hearts thumping. 

Blazing Eye – “Ways to Die” – [Static Shock]

whngr   9/25/2020   7-inch, A Library

Four unsheathed slashers from this four piece out of the city of angels. Growling, smoking fretboards, note intensive bass-lines, hammering the snare, crushing the cymbals, necro-centric hardcore punkrock led by Austin Delgadillo (Deathly) inciting fury, contempt, and violence. Tracks are short with short pauses, stay alert and have some Christ On Parade cued up.

Pillaiyaar [coll] – [EMI (India)]

Thurston Hunger   9/23/2020   7-inch, International

1982 soundtrack single from the Tamil film “Pillaiyaar” Call it Kollywood? I ain’t no expert but definitely a fan! Anyways this has four beautiful pop numbers.
A1 – Super bouncy tabla guides this track, flute flying like a crazy bird while Rajalakshmi Sulamangalam soars ever higher above that.
A2- Male and female voices coasting and cavorting, shenai (?) slithers in and tries to stir up some trouble, but the joy-love vibe is too pure. Prominent violins rise in a closing bridge. P. Susheela hits notes like a shining sun in the sky.
B1- Killer vocal trills to start, male and female trading off while stark guitar adds a little tension, that soon launches into galloping tabla with great wandering vocals.
B2- I should learn the name of this style, it feels related to the Qawwali kind of devotional singing, irrepressible beat and T.K. Kala’s voice circles around it, like sliding a magnet through your brain. A lot of charge and pull.

This little 33 rpm record is a gem and amazing, as is the internet where I could find the actual film (some sort of Ganapathi origin story verily). Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzrZ8mE_wtk
songs are at A1-6:30 A2-56:30 B1-78:50 B2-37.40

Let this clear all obstacles from your path. Enjoy!
-Thurston Hunger

Crawl Unit / R.H.Y Yau – Japan 08:98 [coll] – [Povertech Industries]

mickeyslim   9/14/2020   7-inch, A Library

Crawl Unit:
slow motion bees swarm
as electric shockwave birds chirp,
and rusted whispers ebb

R.H.Y. Yau:
cartoon sound effects
stretch over a toilet bowl,
and tin cans apologize

Live recordings from their ’98 tour of Japan. Quaint, noisy 7″ limited to 303 copies.

Warthog – “Warthog” – [Static Shock]

whngr   9/13/2020   7-inch, A Library

400

NYC’s Warthog are driving HXC with a fantasy aesthetic and few nods to war metal so I find warcore to be an apt moniker, one I am claiming to have coined despite it being used previously to describe a recent trend in the fashion world that I am only now discovering. Young, vital and I’m assuming to be an absolute gas at house parties. Excellent low brow virtuosity for your next campaign against a Lawful Evil Liche or for getting pumped for your Friday night razor fight.

Released in 2018 by Toxic State and in the U.K. by Static Shock Records.

Dagger – “Writhing In The Light of The Moon” – [Lengua Armada Discos]

whngr   8/3/2020   7-inch, A Library

Aggressive low fidelity hardcore punk with hooks from Crown Point and Hammond, Indiana ca. 2017.

Shrieking, down strokes, tinny, fast, four guys, one-two, angry, and good. Have a listen, then a look at the four part docu-series of their first tour and decide for your fucking self:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=29&v=aaHlj43lgx0&feature=emb_logo

Deformity – “Deformity” – [Toxic State]

whngr   7/22/2020   7-inch, A Library

Blistering cacophonous rock with gnashing teeth and dissonant peels of echoing rage. Project by Joe Nelson and Shiva Addanki of New York City who would go on to form Kaleidoscope. Churning out nine releases from 2010 to 2016 most of which would be on single sided cassettes this being one of only two 7 inches released. Toxic State = surreal and oblique hardcore punk.

Zyfilis – “E.P. One” – [Adult Crash]

whngr   7/18/2020   7-inch, A Library

Furious driving hardcore punk from Sweden/Denmark (Malmö/Copenhagen). Reverb soaked fem vocs, slashing guitar solos, noodling note-intensive bass lines, thumping hammers. Screams, growls, howls and rage. Taking a page from mid 80’s HXC but with an interesting Scandinavian and technically proficient slant while retaining the raw and vital energy of the pissed-off, disenfranchised youth at the end of civilization.

Nandas – “Nandas” – [Toxic State]

whngr   7/17/2020   7-inch, A Library

Haunting hardcore, hurting nerd-corps, heaving nard cure. Little is to be gleaned from the web around NYC’s Nandas, however as they are associated with Toxic State the usual adjectives may be applied: Raw, garage, punk. Breathy female vocals front a raucous, blown out, note-intensive bass, grinding, buried overdriven guitar, riffs, one-two one-two, feedback, meandering, wistful, and disturbed. This is not your grandfather’s Hardcore… but your grandma might dig it. Is she into “catsss”?

Moctar, Mdou – "Ibitlan" – [Sahelsounds]

Thurston Hunger   5/27/2020   7-inch, International

Mdou Moctar, c’mon even his name rocks! Mdou (aka Mahamadou Souleymane) was introduced to KFJC by this same fantastic label on the Music From Saharan Cellphones Vol 2 collection, let that be an inspiration to anyone worrying about how the pandemic will impact music, sound will always survive, silicon chips swirling around the desert! Along those lines, apparently this single was to be a limited edition 2020 tour offering, but fortunately this record and songs are unstoppable. The Agadez sound often leaves listeners agog, side A of this does not disappoint, dizzying spin start by Mdou alone, the band then jumps on board – spirited singing doubled by rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane, drives Mdou up higher both in voice and on the guitar later in the song, possible dual lead but I suspect it’s Mdou overdubbed and double-fuzzed.
Side B follows that lead with an anthemic, surging number. No vocals
on this one, so a good chance to appreciate the rhythm section, drummer
Aboubacar Mazawadje strikes that snare launching each spiral;
then Mazawadje and Michael Coltun on bass tumble through to the next
round. But make no mistake, Mdou is the Prince here, hammer-on/hammer-off guitar trills reign in a bluesy way, with touches of red.
Pretty amazing that he built his first forbidden guitar, and these days it seems like Agadez is ground-zero for Fender.
Driving modern psych from Niger by way of Sahel Sounds.

-Thurston Hunger

Dechirico – "Kumamoto/Kumaso" – [Jacktone]

humana   5/24/2020   7-inch, A Library

Bubbling, energetic electronic happiness emanates from both these tracks, the first of which was inspired by a place in Japan badly affected by an earthquake after the music was written. Play it to honor the place, play it to raise your spirits, play it to free yourself from the cage you may be in.

A Mild Case of Split Wrists [coll] – [John Wiese]

whngr   4/21/2020   7-inch, A Library

Asmr For Automatons

Two moderately noisy tracks on this 45 by Joe Colley of Crawl Unit and John Wiese that worry, wither, and writhe. Machines crunch, tap, whir, crackle, and grind. Chirp, pulse, short, falter, and fade over near sub-sonic rumbles that though neither overtly harsh nor necessarily amiable may provide the listener with a subliminally calming experience. 

These two sound sculptors have come together again to create a sonic curio for your perusal. Packaged neatly in a succinct and aesthetically pleasing jacket, this single from 2007 will flicker through your awareness, be forgotten, and settle in your subconscious to perhaps live again in dreams of hypnotized machinery.

Noxagt – “Consulatet Kalendar 2020” – [Drid Machine Records]

atavist   2/24/2020   7-inch, A Library

Noise rock. A little mathy, but mostly belligerent. For those familiar with Noxagt, you know they do mathy, noisy stuff. The recording on this flexidisc is notable for its lofi production. Blown out, pounding, incessant cymbals, dazed guitar, throbbing bass undercurrents. Trebly, hot blast furnace sound. The tri-fold scheme of the flexi disc seemed to resist the weight of my tonearm, so I used a razor blade to sever the flexi from its folder. An act of deliberate, surgical mutilation of the original seems to carry the theme of the audio forward (and make the disc functional). All instrumental, five and a half minutes. Give it a spin.