Another “noise band” that has managed to get better technically without sacrificing anxiety or power. Has the original mix of “Yu-Gung” that was released on an EP this year, and there’s even an angelic (or demonic?) choir style on the vocals that gives a neat haunting quality to their sound.
This is the one band you gotta keep your eye on. After their all-out noisefests, they’ve decided to hit back with their version of pop music. The title track here is a neat little marching Arabic tune very similar to early CAN, and it’s been remixed by Adrian Sherwood to give it this incredibly heavy-footed rhythm. The two songs on the other side are a creepy Exorcist-style tune and a straight version of LEE HAZELWOOD’s “Sand” that would make NICK CAVE proud.
These folks are among the world’s leading proponents of industrial noise, utilizing instruments, jackhammers, concrete mixers, etc. But somehow, these live recordings didn’t shake me up. ZEV makes better rhythms beating on his springs, SPK used to make more intense, demonic sounds, and ENO makes better ambient music. Not that I’m any expert on this stuff, but after reading Tesco’s article, I thought this genre would change my life. Guess I’m too weird already, ’cause it seems tame.
