Myrrh - S/T

Self titled re-release of roaring, open throated guitar and viola from Myrrh on Soft Abuse. Classifiable firmly in the sludge genre, these eight tracks would feel just as comfortable sitting on a shelf filed with your drone records. Heavy cyclical grooves, thick suffocating production, and then that guitar tone... oh... man.. that tone. The lead guitar has to be the most insanely filthy, disgusting, down in the mud, up on the mountain top guitar tone I've ever heard. The kind of tone that makes you stop what you're doing, turn around and stare at your speakers. No pretension, no nonsense, not a single lyric about thundering hooves, or lizard kings, just heavy, heavy tonic.

Stellar physical product. Fold out poster of what looks like an old lady snake charmer, art print, digital download included. Grabbed my copy from Discriminate.

Kassel Jaeger - Deltas

Seamless amalgamation of manipulated field recordings and sustained drones from Kassel Jaeger with Deltas on Editions Mego. Per the label description, the sound contained is "...Derived and processed from stones recordings..." and the third track, "...electromagnetic capture of meteorite resonances..." Beautiful juxtapositions of sound manipulations (which I assume to be movements of various geologic matter) against a delicate and precise blanket of electronics. Not the overwhelming blanket of sounds that can occur in the realm of Musique Concrète, each element of the mix is left to feel open and solitary, allowing careful consideration of each, or enjoyment as a whole. Proof that you don't have to understand something for it sound damn interesting.

Worth noting that the pressing from D&M sounds perfectly pitch black as you would expect. Poly lined sleeves, digital download included, 2012 release, still available from Mimaroglu.

Astro / Fear Konstrucktor - Hollow Earth

I feel like my ears are getting lazy. A side effect derived from a lack of exposure to caustic ear drum boiling noise. This split on Black Horizons, Hollow Earth, shared by Astro and Fear Konstrucktor is a nightmarish trip into a galaxy of fierce machinery and reverberating extraterrestrial torture. Equal parts noise, and pulsating atmospherics. Like feeding a Korg N5 into a garbage disposal and shooting it into space. A release in this vein suffers from a certain amount of indescribability, and really does need to be heard, and yes, felt to be appreciated. And both halves of this one deserve that from those interested in heavy sound. If our alien masters really do bleed acid, I'll bet it sounds like this.

Available from Discriminate in an edition of 100. Incredible booklet style pro printed artwork. I really can't say enough about the presentation of these tapes from Black Horizons.

Tim Hecker / Daniel Lopatin - Instrumental Tourist

The two names on this double vinyl should be easily enough to make anything I have to say quite unnecessary. But, nonetheless... I found this collaborative work between the visionary behind Oneohtrix Point Never, Daniel Lopatin, and lauded composer Hecker, to be an extremely satisfying middle ground between the style of both. At times, one seems to overtake the other, and at others the reverse, but always returning to an elevated middle ground. I didn't find it a vast departure for either artist, but highly enjoyable cohesion between two distinctive sounds. And because I always try my humble best to describe what I'm hearing, (I'll frankly admit, I'm far from a representative expert on the work of either artist), let's call this complex engaging sound, a patchwork of beautiful moments drifting in a thick grey ocean of clay. Sounds like a couple of guys who know exactly what they're doing.

Gatefold sleeve in matte finish with thick obi strip. Glossy cardboard inner sleeves, black vinyl. Edition of 2000 hand numbered, available widely, and specifically, from Discriminate.

Earn - Romantic Comedy

Heads up enthusiasts of the overwhelming, multifaceted wall of harsh noise. Romantic Comedy from Earn on Ekhein is a single 24 minute exploration that seems to take what I interpret as some type of orchestral work (it's pretty damn hard to be certain), and plunges it into an acid bath that sounds like the disintegration of Basinski in a really bad mood. Call it compressed, crushed, whatever you like, if the sound of distortion is beautiful to you, this will blow you up. What I enjoy about this CD-R, is that despite the extreme nature of the treatment, I was still easily able to find moments of melody and tenderness breaking through the miasma. Tons of rich depth, making the cold steely sound feel warm. Dope.

Grabbed my copy from Discriminate, who now happens to be out of stock on this title. A few other distros may be in possession of a copy or two, namely Tomentosa.

Mirror to Mirror - Here You Leave Today

Sometimes simple can be stunning. And by that, I don't mean to imply these tracks don't showcase a wonderful eye for timbre and construction. They do. Merely that the greatest strength of many albums is the willingness of the artist to allow their creation to be simply enjoyed without any pretense. And I think that's the deal here. Here You Leave Today, from Mirror To Mirror, presents seven tracks of sweet, lush, synth composition in mostly short, and highly accessible form. Soft clouds of ambience played against mid tempo arpegiated melody. It's a beautiful record, that begs to be played, enjoyed, flipped over, and played again. Joint release from Jugular Forest and Cylindrical Habitat Modules. Relax and just breathe the air.

I found the jacket on this release particularly compelling, and somehow a wonderful narrative backdrop for the recording. Edition of just 250 on elegant black vinyl. Originally purchased from Discriminate, still available via Jugular Forest.

Calypso Borealis - Esuk Utan

Exceptionally subdued meditation assistance from Calypso Borealis, with Esuk Utan on Rocket Machine Tapes. Four hypnotic, and tremendously effective tracks that will completely flatline your brainwaves. Delicate waves of droning melody, creating a field of sound with such massive width it occupies the entirity of your listening capacity. Each piece seems to use a bit of disjointed noise to ground the composition while alternating tonal elements bend into and out of consciousness. The opener of side B, Pita More, enters a loop of cyclical melody so texturally vivid I felt just about paralyzed at one point. With careful listening these are sounds that will melt your head into the floor.

Pro printed edition of just fifty. Originally grabbed via distro at Discriminate (now sold out), can be picked up on a pretty killer two for one deal right now at Rocket Machine Tapes.

Trepaneringsritualen - Deathward, To The Womb

Bleak, mechanical, death industrial from Trepaneringsritualen, with Deathward, To the Womb. Joint release between Black Horizons and Merz Tapes. Distorted feral growling, twisted and compressed until unintelligible. Pulsating synth grinding to the sound of a thousand unrelenting gears. These are visceral, aggressive sounds, drenched in a concept I won't even attempt to interpret. And that's how I prefer it, ears beaten to a pulp, and not quite sure what I just heard. Disgustingly ugly, and perhaps exactly what you've been waiting for. Can't recommend highly enough.

The absolutely best presentation I've seen from a cassette release this year. Incredible booklet style liner notes printed on black with reflective silver ink. Sold out at Discriminate, still available via Black Horizons and Merz.

C-Schulz & Hajsch - C-Schulz & Hajsch

So I might be a bit close minded, but when the reverse of an album jacket credits one of the artists with playing the “window shades”, I’m skeptical. But in the case of this self titled 2000 release on Sonig from legendary duo C-Schulz and Hajsch, those concerns were ill imagined. This is pure compositional excellence. A pleasant and challenging arrangement of various musical and non musical elements that pique curiosity and encourage discovery. A continuous juxtaposition of ear canal manipulation set against organic instrumentation and field sounds. Moments that warp, twist and drill into the ear, change your spatial interpretation, and then give way to large, transparent walls of almost invisible sound. Sounds that scrape and rumble, become recognizable, and then transition again, never content to remain still. A dynamic and refreshing work of art.

Simplistic, effective presentation, single jacket, poly lined sleeve. Despite the 2000 release date, copies of this seem to be showing up all over in distros. I suggest you grab from Discriminate.

Le Révélateur - Horizon Fears

Mechianically precise, and exceptionally musical synth construction from Le Révélateur, with Horizon Fears on NNA Tapes. Five tracks of high speed laser sharp textures and tones. No dirt, no grit, not even a hint of grime. Just incredibly clean and detailed soundtracks to an astral voyage. The entire c22 absolutely glows with webs of immaculate melody. Sounds like a star map come to life. Simple concept, complex design, wonderful execution.

Hand painted labels on clear shell tapes, full size liner notes. Originally purchased from and currently out of stock at Discriminate, still available directly from NNA.

Outer Space - Akashic Record (Events:1986-1990)

So at this point, everything coming out on Spectrum Spools has reached automatic purchase status. Akashic Record (Events:1986-1990) from the artist collective, Outer Space, is no exception. Ultra clean, arppegiated melodies layered over expansive washes of synth. You simply won't find a recording with a better mix than this. Every last bit of instrumentation is open, audible, available in the soundscape, and complimentary of the whole. The entire record has a massive depth of field, filling every corner of your listening area with shimmering, jaw dropping, and I assume painstakingly perfected timbres. Sounds like a rocket ship ride on a pixie stick.

Beautiful high gloss jacket, poly lined sleeve, neon orange vinyl. Cut by D&M so as you would expect, it sounds flawless. Available from Discriminate

Evan Caminiti - Night Dust

So my pursuit of the perfect blissed out ambient record my have met it's conclusion with Night Dust from Evan Caminiti on Immune Recordings. Incredible balance and restraint, merging and refining opposing poles of tone and texture. Cracks and wear appear around the edges of rusted, blown out guitar, exposing beautiful timbres that emerge in moments directly before complete collapse. These menacing, abrasive moments, then fractured and juxtapositioned against clear, crisp waves of ambient synth structure produce an elegant and overwhelming sense of hope and sorrow. Somehow, I think, this is music appropriate for fondly remembering the love of someone once lost. Heartrending and poignant, eleven tracks of absolute beauty.

Single LP housed in a beautiful thick gatefold sleeve with digital download included. Grab directly from Discriminate.

Heatsick - Intersex

The majority of my musical tastes (and for that matter, the majority of the experimental tape/LP scene) seems the equivalent of carefree, messy, uninhibited, children drawing their thoughts on a blank canvas with every crayon in the box. A sort of full on approach to creativity, with the dials wide open.

Intersex from Heatsick appears to me, as a statement in how wonderful a juxtaposition between inhibition and structure can be. A sort of "pendulum swing" in the other direction of experimentation towards exactness. Both sides of the LP feature extended tracks that dance with light, effortless precision through beat driven structures that walk the line between early Kraftwerk, and Jazz instrumentation. There is a metropolitan feeling present in these rhythms. A very urban vibe, that almost invites the listener to enjoy this music while walking city streets searching for the art present in places unlooked for.

The LP comes in an absolutely beautifully printed sleeve, and similar to other PAN releases, a really slick PVC slip cover package with printing front and back. I purchased from Discriminate and was nodding my head to this one in 3 days.

Battered Movement - Garden-Shackled

Whoa. I wasn't familiar with Battered Movement prior to this release. Picked up the new batch from Digitalis LTD and got my hair absolutely blown back by huge walls of complex synth and distorted bass. Garden-Shackled sounds absolutely huge compared to most of the tape scene. The entire tape has an extremely thick bottom end, both with beats, rumble, and some melody. Nothing wrong with focusing on small delicate soundscapes, but it's really refreshing to hear 8 tracks rip right out of the speakers at you. I think it sounds like Alec Empire fighting with Lunar Miasma while high on pain killers but what do I know?. I purchased directly from Discriminate.

Peter Rehberg - Work for GV 2004-2008

Peter Rehberg on Editions Mego. Harsh and melodic synth sounds that weave in and out of consciousness, intertwined with spoken word readings that seem to be almost pieces of a journal written by a regretful drug addict and prostitute. There is a strong story-like progression to "Works" that carries heavy emotional weight. Tracks make glacial shifts from contemplative and introspective, to more ominous, and finally to hopeful with the standout "Boxes & Angels". Giving the entire work 2 consecutive listens left me feeling emotionally drained and almost sick. Super highly recommended, and available at Discriminate.

Thomas Ankersmit & Valerio Tricoli - Forma II

Forma II by Thomas Ankersmit and Valerio Tricoli creates a patchwork of sounds that mutate and transform like visual art as sound. As if emulating the philosiphy of free jazz, this limited CD on PAN continues in a locomotive state through an unpredictably vast range of tones and extremes. Muddy walls of hiss dissolve to a wisper of static, and then blow wide open into massive caverns of noise. Others drill into your ear challenging you to maintain your focus until a wash of texture ushers in a respite. The focus here isn't on creating sounds, but altering your ears perception of the space you listen to sound in. Perfect for those who love the complex and challenging.

I gladly traded my dollars to the folks over at Discriminate Music in exchange for a copy.