The North Sea – Vagrants (Rubber City Noise)
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There’ve been plenty of Brad Rose eulogies what with FoxyD shuttin down and this being his last record as The North Sea, but Grandeur & Weakness is just too fucking awesome to let slip by. And since this is ostensibly a synth record, and since I’m usually bored by synth records, that should be enough to pique your interest. This isn’t a nostalgiac kickback or a plunky noodlefest, this is some dark n stormy shit with African percussion that’s stemming from Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched Of The Earth which “explored the psychological effect of colonization.” Rose has gathered a potent blend of instruments to work on that colonization theme, he throws down some evil fucking drones that work towards a bittersweet bliss but end up just drenching your soul in disgust, blippy synth loops taking turns with blown out drums for conjuring frantic nightmares, nothing at ease, everything heaving & terrorizing, abrasive grit scouring the depths of your guilted mind, droning machinery impossibly pouding along well after it’s rusted solid, a record that trumps the rest in Rose’s catalog, The North Sea’s swan song that’ll go down in the books as a triumphant fucking masterpiece of noise/drone refuse. R.I.P.
Padme – Created In Their Image (SicSic)
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This dude is a bit mysterious. Sisto Rossi, from Germany, put out a lot of underground stuff maybe? Now he’s moved to the US and this might be his last tape? I don’t know. It’s not that important. Wisdom From The Stars is though. This is some grand shit. Looong stretched out synth jams that are pure. evil. Old school horror score style but planted firmly in the sci-fi genre. Deep dark drones sprawling out into the unknown, haunted spaceships, cockpits gone haywire, red machine eyes giving you the staredown, distant pulsars making tiny waves on your pulsar-meters, minimal slabs of synth, bubbling & chirping synths, all manner of sci-fi terror drone rolled into one brilliant hour-long tape of desolation. Sadly already sold out at the label, so check yer distros and knab the digital if all else fails.
Griefhound – Necessary To God (Rubber City Noise)
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Download Griefhound / Cane Swords Split
/approaching disgust/
/cave trolls versus space wizards/
/degenerate beats/
Crystal Crypt – Side A (The Beyond / II / Worlds Apart / Damaged) (Native Parts)
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This is a side project of Johannes Brander, the dude behind Native Parts Recordings and the band Skogar. Pretty much consistently awesome in everything he does. This tape is a little bit of a sidestep from Skogar, venturing into the sounds of horror soundtracks and evil realms. Part Goblin synth snippets, part crumbling fuckery, lots of weirdness, and all manner of dark & dank. Like a cult of savages from the deep, who care not for fidelity nor beauty, but have occasional moments of tenderness, the sheets of guitar feedback seamlessly making way for light drones and vocals. Very cool shit right here, definitely hoping these 20 minutes are only a taste of more to come.
