Luasa Raelon "80000v" CD
[Snip-Snip]
The six tracks herein were recorded using mics, a gas can, a TV set, samples, electribe synth, noisewash, theremin, and distortion pedals. Most of the compositions gravitate towards a mix of light distortion, ambient drones, hums and whirrs, bright feedback, and swirling motion, with fairly improvisational structures but no lack of feeling. Most every song runs more than seven minutes, so I have to say that things can get somewhat tiresome on occasion, but for the most part the general consistency of the individual tracks seems to work surprisingly well. "Conduit" is slightly more chaotic (in a loose sense) and abrasive, but not over the top... It's not my favorite piece on the disc, but I do like the ruggedness of the distortion and the faint, indecipherable samples that fade in at out of the mix at times. "A Smoking Mirror", the longest track at 12:39, is very spacious and uses some echoed percussive sounds with some spurts of feedback and stinging distorted crunches. At the five-minute mark things take a much more oppressive, thunderous turn with lots of thick bass and subtle synth drones, creating a brilliant dark ambient soundscape that rides out the rest of the track. Closing track "Silence City" introduces some persistent and constant spacey blips that are a lot different than anything else offered up throughout the release, though the rest of the textures are right in line with the not too harsh, not too soft blend heard earlier. However, it is a bit more sinister on some levels (not unlike the preceding piece)... I like it. The recording sounds good to me. It's not too pristine, but far from lo-fi, and I like that sort of thing. It's clear, it's got a good dose of midrange as well as strong lows and highs, etc. As with all of the Snip-Snip releases that I've seen, the CD-R comes in a slim jewel case with a "booklet" housing a xeroxed onecard insert with inside of a wraparound cover that's printed on a heavier stock of paper (light purple). The heavier paper has small flaps on each side, one for the band name/title, and one for the label release number, and the xerox shows through an open strip in the center some electric equipment. The back of the heavier insert has the tracklist and other such information. Also inside is a makeshift xerox booklet with additional photos, a thanks list, and a list of equipment used. At times some of this material is a little bit typical, more so during the harsh and unstructured moments than anything, but this project is certainly promising, and I enjoy most of what I hear within. At $4 (US) a pop the label's admirable prices shouldn't hinder you from checking this out. (6/10)
Running time - 47:25, Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: A Smoking Mirror, Silence City]
Snip-Snip Records - http://www.angelfire.com/electronic2/snipsnip/

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