Noise

VAK – The Islands Review

VAK – The Islands Review

Alright, you sodden louts, ready thine ears because this here album will need to enter forthwith. We usually save that sort of statement for the second paragraph, using the first to build tension with a nice gentle lead-up, but if you want one of those, tough shit. This is your lead-up. Gapen your hearing holes and get ready to absorb one of the flat-out coolest albums of the year, coming from the Stockholm underground to deliver a baseball bat, wrapped in barbed wire and dipped in ayahuasca, straight to the trachea. VAK has arrived.” VAK Daddy.

Quiet Man – The Starving Lesson Review

Quiet Man – The Starving Lesson Review

“I think it’s fair to say that the planet we inhabit has seen better days. It’s hot and getting hotter. Not insignificant portions of it are actually on fire and other, still larger parts will soon be underwater. It is packed with rubbish that will outlast all of us, even as we expand exponentially to fill the ‘space’ left behind by all biodiversity we have, directly or indirectly, wiped out. And on its debut, Philadelphia quintet Quiet Man (formerly God Root) would like to draw your attention to this dire state of affairs. Their message? We’re all fucked. Their chosen medium? Psychedelic sludge, noise, and drone.” Loud quietus.

The Turin Horse – Unsavory Impurities Review

The Turin Horse – Unsavory Impurities Review

“Just look at that cover! I didn’t quite care what it ended up being when I saw that brazenly bright, composite-faced figure with its many mouths open in… anguish? Excitement? Both? Of course, I knew it had to foreshadow noise to some degree—something so frighteningly stitched could only be the result of frequencies scraping the boundary between pique and pleasure.” Horse show.

Treedeon – New World Hoarder Review

Treedeon – New World Hoarder Review

Treedeon is a trio based in Berlin, having released two full-lengths since their inception in 2013. Consisting of former Ulme vocalist Arne Heesch, ex-Jingo de Lunch vocalist Yvonne Ducksworth, and drummer Andy Schünemann, Treedeon is a disciple of the NOLA sludge scene, with a filthy and caustic breed that recalls Eyehategod’s ten-ton blues and a density that conjures Thou.” If a tree falls in sludge, does it make an abrasive noise?

Läjä Äijälä & Albert Witchfinder – Ordeal and Triumph Review

Läjä Äijälä & Albert Witchfinder – Ordeal and Triumph Review

“Läjä Äijälä and Albert Witchfinder are both veterans to the Finnish music scene, the former best known for his time with punk band Terveet Kädet, while the latter is renowned as vocalist/bassist of Reverend Bizarre – although their collaboration has nothing to do with either. Like 2021 debut Centuries of Youth, Ordeal and Triumph offers three tracks and an hour of a polarizing blend of power electronics, industrial, analog noise, dark ambient, and spoken word.” Enter the Ordeal.

T.O.M.B. – Terror Winds Review

T.O.M.B. – Terror Winds Review

“I picked up Terror Winds for shock – I’ll admit that fully. When we last met T.O.M.B. readily dealt my very first 1.0 roundhouse kick. 2020’s Thin the Veil was, by all accounts, a disgrace. Offering a revolving door of guest musicians without a thread of consistency while flaunting painfully directionless songwriting in the name of kvlt kred, it consisted of forty-five minutes of noisy industrial black metal that felt about forty-three minutes too long. Straddling the fence between a bargain bin Psyclon Nine “beats ‘n shred” approach and the Tetragrammacide ascetic aesthetic with the grace of a toddler, it was something else. I just didn’t expect to see T.O.M.B. back ’round these parts so soon.” T.O.M.B. soon?

KEN mode – NULL Review

KEN mode – NULL Review

“No, this album has nothing to do with our favorite sponge friend. Yes, this album has everything to do with FOUR angry Canadians now that KEN mode has promoted Kathryn Kerr, a one-woman wrecking ball of saxophone, synth, and piano prowess, previously guest-credited on 2018’s Loved. Did you think that KEN mode would go full saxcore after that experimental sludgeball? Well, I bet your 2022 bingo card is all kinds of fucked up at this point, so let’s make this one easy: KEN mode—or more accurately, primary bleeding heart Jesse Matthewson—hated the past couple years and it shows.” No dream house for you!