REVIEWS

NO VISITORS – LIVE FROM THE BOTTOMLESS PIT (RURAL ISOLATION PROJECT, 2021)

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An absolutely brutal and unrelentingly bleak noise album by No Visitors under the Rural Isolation Project imprint. Live From the Bottomless Pit was composed from five months of field recordings in 2020 – which itself was an unrelentingly bleak and isolating year. Matt Turner – who performs under No Visitors composed this double CD with …

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BREDNOTBRED – NEST (SELF-RELEASED, 2020)

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Coming from the furtive Pittsburgh, PA experimental music community, Brednotbred’s modular synth workouts on Nest are deeply satisfying works that showcase a real, human heart beating at an odd time signature amongst the opening and closings of thousands of perfectly timed noise gates. Brednotbred work in the realm of warped IDM and experimental modular synth …

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NICK KEELING – QUEENSGATE (TORN LIGHT, 2020)

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The neighborhood of Queensgate means little for the uninitiated, un-chili fed masses not living in the greatest Rust Belt city of all time – Cincinnati. For most Cincinnatians, the neighborhood of Queensgate means very little. It was once known as the Kenyon-Barr neighborhood of Cincinnati’s historic West End that was razed to the ground. Literally …

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JOSH LANDES – PROVINCIAL ELECTRONICS (ARKEEN, 2020)

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For the past twelve years Josh Landes has helmed the highly influential noise project Limbs Bin. Nestling into the margins between oscillating noise and punishing grind, Limbs Bin records like Bliss Tech, Total Anguish and Summertime Blues have become blueprints for contemporary noise artists who value the ecstatic and cathartic immediacy of Landes’ performances and …

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BRANDON LOCHER – EP2 (Self-Released, 2020)

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The New York-based visual artist, musician and composer’s latest release is an invigorating three-song blast that’s both intensely creative and surprisingly accessible. Even the quickest glance at Brandon Locher’s CV would make any artist exhausted, jealous, or both. As a visual artist, the Johnstown, PA native’s works include – among other things – the hyper-detailed …

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PREMISES – SURFACER

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Surfacer, the new EP by Boston, MA based Premises present a big tent approach to electronic music that marries mathy apreggios, layered breakbeats and organic percussion with strong melodic pop sensibilities and ambient shadings. Premises long reach delivers on the promises that bands like Arms & Sleepers, DNTEL and The American Dollar started 10 + …

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FIGURES OF DEVOTION – RHAPSODY IN TRAVEL (HURT COLLECTION, 2020)

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I received this beautifully laid out package in the mail containing the cassette of Figures of Devotion 2020 album Rhapsody in Travel. Included with the cassette were several gorgeous photos of unmarked land and cityscapes. According to the scant info card it is noted that these songs were composed and recorded in Texas, Wisconsin, Utah …

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CHRIS OPPERMAN – CHAMBER MUSIC FROM HELL (Purple Cow, 2020)

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The new album from the New Jersey-based composer/musician/educators – like all his music – a highly ambitious work and may be his magnum opus. Until the next one. It’s impossible to write about Chris Opperman – composer, pianist, trumpet player, music professor – without mentioning Frank Zappa. An avid fan of the late musician, Opperman …

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ANDREW SMILEY – LOOMING AS LIGHT TORN (SELF-RELEASED, 2020)

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The latest album from the New York City-based guitarist, composer and improviser is full of stark vocals and fractured, atonal guitar wizardry, resulting in a fascinating and adventurous listening experience. I’m sure the world is almost as sick of “2020 is a shitshow” analogies in arts reviews as they are of 2020 itself, but bear …

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