Topdown Dialectic - S/T

Rad post everything beats from Topdown Dialectic with a self(un?)titled release on Aught. Plenty of things being written about this one (here and here for example), and all of it deserved. Four tracks of something that sounds like noise, industrial, glitch, and musique concrete all suffering maltreatment from over compression. Thick suffocating thump that's almost out of synch, but just perfectly so. It all crackles, hisses, and just about feels like it's going to fall apart, all while weaving in synth samples and sounds like they're playing in reverse. So dope.

Edition of 100, clear shells, really minimal white imprint, clear poly bag with no art or notes. Crazy minimal. Grab while you can from the Aught Bandcamp.

German Army - S/T

Minimalist industrial deconstruction from German Army on Trapdoor Tapes. Not exactly sure if this is self titled, untitled, or otherwise... or if it really even matters. A lot of what you'd expect from the extremely prolific German Army project. Deconstructed because it feels like tearing down the tropes of Industrial, discarding the pomp it became and embracing the visciously counter culture aesthetic it intended. Claustrophobic, jagged compositions, slightly off kilter percussion overlapped by harsh oscillation. 12 tracks that move with patience, creeping and lurching stalking deliberately through the soundscape. Occasional vocals that seems to create a detached narrative, sounding to me not so much a participant in the recordings as an observer of them. Everything feels crammed right up against you, subtly eroding comfort, slyly introducing new and unexpected samples and instrumentations until you've stopped trying to make sense of it all.

Edition of 50 on black shells, photocopy collage jcard in b/w. Very minimal physical product that associates perfectly with the vibe on this one. Grab direct from Trapdoor Tapes.

Loom - S/T

Slow creeping filth from Loom, with a self titled two tracker of harsh guitar drone. On this one we're right in the middle of the sludge/meditation tug of war. Loud and overwhelming enough to block out thought with enough depth and evolution to invite close examination and introspection. Heavy elements that act as a foundation, giving depth as further pieces are stacked on top. A narrowly equalized soundscape and long echoing depth of field creates and tight window where all the noise fights itself for space creating an incredibly dense atmosphere. You can turn this up, and the spiraling guitar howls into your ear canal or you could drop the volume low and just float along on the tide. I chose the former.

Edition of just 40, collage art, gold shells labeled with a label maker on the front, "hand" numbered on the back in the same way. Grab direct from Psi Labs or stream in full and purchase at the label Bandcamp.

Black Deer - S/T

Whoa slick beat work from Black Deer with a self titled LP on Peak Oil. Consistently evolving rhythm formed by interlocking layers that overlap at odd angles. As elements are introduced and removed your brain is forced to reinterpret the entire work in an entirely new way. Tracks feel incredibly precise and somewhat academic, and still find ways to challenge you with unexpected bits. I could explain, but then, I'm not really qualified and the sound sample says plenty. Killer.

Edition of 400, green paint with a square cut out of a deer adhered in the center. Comes with a large fold out poster. Grab direct from the fantastic Peak Oil.

Nagual - S/T

Tightly coiled, ultra tense, dark drone from Nagual, with a self titled LP on Ergot Records. Three tracks, two on the front, a single side long burner on the flip. Compositions of gnashing looped guitar, swirling and reflecting obtuse angles back into the ear. Flitting odd ball bits that balance gently atop thick slabs of low end. Tones that howl and cry, tearing at the listener. Occasionally interrupted, and immediately reinterpreted with blasts of chaotic percussion. Dense... claustrophobic. Not heavy, not spacey, but morose and introspective. Sounds about to overwhelm the forces that contain them. The balance of improvisation and control, the juxtaposition of light and heavy. This is the type of record that builds up tension in your chest, and makes you take a pause and exhale when the it's over.

Edition of 300 on black vinyl with printed liner notes. Grab direct from Ergot, and then puruse one of the last remaining copies of the incredible from Aaron Dilloway Ergot LP from Tomentosa.

Dmitri Zherbin - S/T

Whirling, off kilter sound manipulation from Dimitri Zherbin with a self(un?) titled release on ((cave)) Recordings. Heads up, this is one challenging tape, and demands an adventurous mind and close listening. This stuff is profoundly, delightfully odd. Damaged mechanical detritus that I assume to be the results of garbled squealing tape loops. Harsh and howling repeated passages, continuously shifting. It rattles, rumbles, and squeaks without any respite, or mercy for your mental state. It's the kind of tape that makes you question yourself about halfway through, consider hitting stop, but ultimately makes you feel richer when the play button finally clangs to the off position. If you have a taste for something that makes you work a bit this is an incredible example of noise done really interestingly. Sounds like the last tape deck in the world, spinning helplessly as the pinch roller finally fails.

Edition of 50. Jcards featuring Rob's more of Rob's incredible collage work. Grab direct from the label.

Auxiliary Priest - S/T

Ominous astral delirium from Auxiliary Priest, with a self titled chiller on Spring Break Tapes. No track titles listed, no breaks except for the flip. Just etherial blown out space wreckage spooling outward into the cosmos. This one is much more on the noise side of ambience, but what really appeals to me is the restraint to maintain balance between the absolute perfect hints of static and fuzz, and the smooth massive sweeps of melody. Echoing, mechanical grinding way out front in the mix, juxtaposed against caverns of backing melody. Sad and sinister. Striking a delicate balance here between something, and the absence of something. Negative space, but not. Guess that's what I take the Sagan quote in the liner to mean. Sounds like the lone survivor on a doomed space station meeting his own demonic reflection.

Edition of 100, pro imprinted and dubbed. Fold out double sided jcards. Lucky you, this one is on sale as I type this over at Spring Break Tapes.

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.

The Baijkonour Ghost - S/T

Whoa, this is a really heavy tape. Totally caught me off guard, particularly coming from the Cosmic Winnetou imprint of serene modular synth wizard Günter Schlienz. This self-titled release from The Baijkonour Ghost, is a loud, monolithic, swirl of guitar drone. Sometimes haunting and mysterious, at other times dark and menacing, and still others uplifting and spaced out. The type of release I typically associate with the Mid Western titans of the drone tape scene. The four piece outfit makes use of every bit of the c64 length, creating progression within each track, and over the entire work. For me, the standout closer, The Prince Of Whales, combines all elements of the tape, in a blackened overwhelming tide of frantic riffage. Feels like the soundtrack to the eye of the storm.

Available in an edition of just 80 hand numbered copies direct from Cosmic Winnetou. I suggest you move quickly, the rest of the new batch is already sold out.

Lake Mary - S/T

In the span of just two releases, Planted Tapes seems to be carving quite an exceptional niche, intended or not, in the realm experimental guitar composition. I can't quite pin it down to a single style, so i'll just say, it feels... organic. The latest, a self titled c-40 from solo act Lake Mary, is a relaxed, free breathing thing of beauty. The front side is an easy haze of vocal and rusted drone that arrives patiently, perhaps in soft waves. Like walking under rays of sunshine broken by forest canopy, alternating cool and warm. The flip highlights crisp traditional folk guitar recorded in a live setting. Strong, confident playing. Notes played with such finesse, they narrate the album as well as any vocal could. If the intent was the replicate the beauty of the moniker, it has been well achieved.

Home dubbed in the Planted Tapes lab (I like to assume they have a lab) in an edition of just seventy. The PT debut sold out, don't expect this to do anything different. Grab here.

S U R V I V E - S/T

The second release in the new Holodeck batch (see above) is a vicious blend of powerful melody and challenging noise. And this previously sold out re-release from Survive is a killer. Piercing, buzzing synth chords that echo with deep, pulsating emotion. Things sound both sharp as a knife, and yet somehow hazed out and elusive. Constantly shifting rhythm and modulating frequencies seduce the first half of the tape directly into the brain, while the flip slinks through a filthy corridor of slowly evolving hiss and grind before emerging into an eerie astral plane. A sinister, darkwave meets horror cinema feel that's hard to explain and easy to enjoy. Sounds like standing in a dark room, starring into a mirror, preparing for the fight of your life.

Incredible blood red tapes, pro printed and dubbed, grab along with the rest of batch #2 over at Holodeck.