Noiseman433 "The US as I See It" CD
[Snip-Snip]
More blistering harsh noise fury from Noiseman433, this time in the form of 13 untitled tracks under the general heading of "13 Tracks for 13 Colonies". Expect thick layers of total chaos, crusty distortion, sweeping feedback, decaying textures, sputtering throbs... and so on. There are several longer pieces of six, seven, or eight minutes, shorter pieces of one, two, or three, and a few lengths in between. Admittedly I do get somewhat bored here, because I'm always searching for that special something extra when it comes to harsh noise, and despite the fact that these tracks do have individual qualities, and the release was obviously inspired by something concrete, there's no great variety within the compositions themselves or throughout the release as a whole, and I'm not getting a sense of feeling very often. The sixth track is the real standout, quieting down with some percussive metal banging sounds (I assume) under distortion - giving the textures more room to breath and creating an entirely different atmosphere with a dark low-end hum and some sizzling drones here and there. The eleventh track is very short and uses a lot of bass to overload the tones and create a weird sort of rumbling motion that I like a lot. I'd like to hear more work with such dynamics. A few rhythmic loops or tangible elements might not hurt either, as the constant movement of the entire disc can make it hard to focus. It's loud as fuck, though. Very few passages quiet down enough to give the ears a break. Some tracks have a slightly more lo-fi feel than others, which is a cool change of pace, though nothing gets too raw, nor too "perfect". Once more, the usual Snip-Snip packaging: 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 blue for this one). 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 an American flag being projected on a nude woman's chest (Say what!?) through an open strip in the center. The back of the heavier insert has the "tracklist" and other such information. I don't know... I think harsh noise, true harsh noise, is best confined to 7" EP's or other such brief formats. I can appreciate it, but I get so bored with it that I don't need (or want) an hour's worth of material. Noiseman433 is certainly a solid American artist when it comes to textbook noise, but I just can't get into it for extended periods of time. (5/10)
Running time - 57:17, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: they're all untitled]
Snip-Snip Records - http://www.angelfire.com/electronic2/snipsnip/

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