Scissor Shock - Tease The Skeleton

Artist: Scissor Shock
Release: Tease The Skeleton
Label: dollfullofrivets
Year: 2007
Format: CDr
Tracks: 8
TRT: 30:29

This is the lastest EP soon be released on dollfullofrivets. If your familiar with Adam Cooley and Scissor Shock you'll know it's not your average sytle of noise. There's a lot of going on's in this release and here's a short mention of the typs of sounds: Skipping CD sounds, vocal screaming, odd guitar playing, weird ass drums, Mario Brothers jumping for a coin?, buzzing, saxophone, lots of various samples, etc. This is free-rock-noise for sure. No structure and just plain fun! "Melting The Sun" is probably my favorite track on here as it's a total Free-jazz type track, in an odd way. I kinda wish the whole disc sounded like this track as it seemed to be the one with the most purpose. "Dissolved Stomach Calculations" is fairly insteresting as well. Great acid type sound using guitar tapping mixed with some decent drums. Overall this disc is a decent listen and something new for sure. If your a fan of Hobby Knife then you'll like this one. Lots of fun and a ton of sounds!

Harm Stryker - Class Consciousness

Artist: Harm Stryker
Release: Class Consciousness
Label: Sockets
Year: 2007
Format: CDr
Tracks: 12
TRT: 39:15

This is my second taste of Harm Stryker and my first from the Sockets label. I'm not use to softer styles of noise with sections of the tracks being very quite but if I were to give off an example of a release for a good starting point it'd be this one. Let's just say I didn't hate it and there were some great parts as well. This disc is something that'd get play from me on those days were I just don't feel like listening to harsh noise or need something to read to.

There are 12 untitled tracks 18 seconds to almost 8 minutes. To me this is "sci-fi" noise, much like Pulse Emitter. One has to really pay attention to all the soft changes going on admist the high pitches and low squeeks. To me, however, I think if this were one long 39 minute track it'd have the same effect with me. The tracks don't very much in difference but that's not a bad thing as there's always some changing during the whole listen. The best part about this style of noise is I have no idea how the fuck it's done and that impresses me a lot! I've seen and heard a lot of noise so to hear something that I have no idea how it's made kinda gives me all the more reason to listen to it. Amen!

The packaging for this release is pretty unique. We have a cardboard sleeve, in the same lines as a 2 panel digipak, and inside is the unlabeled disc and 2 cardboard inserts. One insert has the definition of "gentrification" and a big bold phrase on the side "Occupants Rule!" The other insert gives me a headache. It features a full page of text about modern capitalism written by Raoul Vaneigem but the text is all written backwards. kcuf dnim a s'ti tub daer ot ysaE. Overall a great listen incase your ears need to recover and yes, Harm knows how to make noise, even though some insects couldn't hear it.

Rubbish / I Died / Rotted Brain - Hymns For Victims Of The Drug War

Artist: Rubbish / I Died / Rotted Brain
Release: Hymns For Victims Of The Drug War
Label: Roil Noise Rubbish
Year: 2007
Format: CDr
Tracks: 15
TRT: 57:59

A new 3-way split between some great lo-fi artists that present some fairly great tracks if your a fan of the lo-fi noise wall crunch sounds. Rubbish gives off 6 tracks, I Died presents 5, and Rotten Brain puts out 4 on this disc. All packaged in Roil Noise's typical style with a CDr slipped into a vinyl sleeve with a 2 page full colour insert.

The Rubbish tracks presented here are more of the "junk-noise" style with various house hold sounds and items being played with. Still fairly harsh at times and if you've heard a lot of Rubbish before and like his style than you'll for sure enjoy his end of the split. Live noise with no edits and it's about as rubbish sounding as you can get. I Died tracks are a bit more grainy sounding than the other two artists on the split. If there's anything with high pitches that your looking for on the split than pick I Died's tracks for sure. Still a lot of grumbles as well and some good effects used on some tracks, like a phaser on "Deceptive Winter Skies", and some great delay work on "Phorusrhacids Unveiled", for example. Rotted Brain, who's rumored to have stopped with the project, gives more of the straight up wall sounds with little variation. Track 5, "Total Dropout" is just great. Perfect example of a short crunchy wall noise track that I'm so in love with!

Overall this is a great 3-way split and showcases some of my favorite artists in the lo-fi spectrum all wrapped up in one. Had this been a 4-way with Oubliette it would have been brilliant, but none-the-less it's a great buy for sure.