Alex Wignall Trowser Carrier – A Flower for My Hoonoo (Ojud/ TTTT) Based on a flurry of recent releases in different guises, Dave Proctor seems to have hit a purple patch just now and, although the quality is variable, successive releases seems to be buoyed by the sheer delight of sonic experiment. A delight which seems to have found its fullest expression in this cassette release of unapologetic no-fi quality noise and spoken word recordings done in conjunction with German noisnik Java Delle. Apparently, Trowser Carrier “exist to bring politeness to the harsh noise scene” and the sixteen short tracks on offer here have titles like ‘ Fluffy Bunny’, ‘A Nice Cup of Tea’ and ‘Thanks for Hoovering’. The spoken lyrics don’t really expand much on the theme suggested by each title and are excessively, even compulsively, polite. The whole thing has a kind of Spike Milligan surrealism about it and to Proctor’s credit he hasn’t tried to introduce a knowing sinister undercurrent to give it ironic cache. Although the noise backing is ‘interesting’, most of the pleasure in these recordings comes from the almost poetic music that is invested in the banal words and sentiments as the short phrases are repeated and modulated in each piece. Genuinely amusing and, oddly, almost profound. Steve Walsh DSDNT – Demo 2013 (Self release) Leeds hardcore quartet DSDNT are a welcome and regular fixture at many metal and hardcore gigs around Leeds at the moment. The band’s dynamic, bass heavy sound displays a high level of musical invention to compliment its brutal power. Not exactly prolific when it comes to recording, this release was specifically produced to coincide with the band’s appearance at ‘kin Hell Fest at Templeworks in Leeds in May. The band recorded, mastered and assembled the cassettes (yup) the day before their appearance and sold the limited run (20 copies) at the gig. The recording quality is determinably lo-fi but the graininess adds a frisson to the overdriven mayhem of the songs, two new ones (the hurtling and brief ‘Human Manager’ and the slow, dramatic five minutes of ‘I Lord Over a Pile of Shit’) that fit nicely into the band’s sonic pocket. Steve Walsh
A plodding gamelan melody, droning strings, slight touches of some sort of flute, and chanting vocals. These elements settle immediately into a comfortable raga pattern, and ‘Inside the Mountain’ essentially sticks to that pattern for its full 20 minute duration. The feel is of a gentle ritual, repetitive in a soothing, hypnotic way, rather than a patience testing way. Although the music doesn’t ‘go anywhere’ as such, the place where it stays is an excellent one to remain. 20 minutes is a good length for this mood, but feel free to loop it for 3 hours for full trancelike effect.
Reviews
Tuuluum Shimmering - Inside the Mountain (Sheepscar Light Industrial)
Tom Bench Plurals - Gland Extraction (Sheepscar Light Industrial) ‘Gland Extraction’ starts out sparsely, with what sounds like creative clunking of a guitar jack in its input, over wavering drones and tones. Curious ‘other’ sounds begin to disrupt the surface, creating an uneasy state of relative stasis that nonetheless seems to be going somewhere. The sounds progress, but you aren’t sure how. After an indeterminate amount of time the listener becomes aware that the background drones have dropped out and the guitar is beginning to shake itself awake. Shortly after that, the piece reaches a peak of fierce howling guitar activity, which eventually subsides to a low, densely layered cloud of drone. This is a perplexing work, full of unclear sounds, shifting and growing even as it appears to remain still. But it is well worth your exploration: delve into it repeatedly, listen closely, and enjoy. Tom Bench MonMon – Soupe Au Lait (Self release) Following recent EPs Sheep Hanger Blues and Pop Disaster Noise, this single track release is a timely reminder that all the evidence points to MonMon’s second album being an absolute corker. It’s a relentlessly bouncy song that features a typically compressed and opaque lyric from Andy Mills that has Mills alternating lines with new addition to the band Candy Hayes. The lyric has two parents delivering a torrent of (mostly clichéd) advice to a hapless son who remains unheard but his resentment just oozes out of the song. The parents are of course oblivious (“This is as good as it gets/This is us doing it right now”). In addition, Soupe Au Lait packs a middle eight with a guitar solo and an brief ambient interlude into its hectic three minutes and is as clever a song as you’ll hear all year. Steve Walsh
33
Four song. However, Not Great Men are a pretty excitable prospect in their own right. Channeling sharp bursts of excitable guitar with an almost panicked vocal, their debut E.P. is alive with a fervent restlessness certain to get crowds moving.