Xome "Itch" CD
[Snip-Snip]
Raging harsh noise from San Francisco, sometimes locking into rhythmic loops, but generally unleashing chaotic and unhinged layers of all out distortion. The tracks range from a mere 30 seconds to a monstrous 16 minutes, with tracks two and three running a combined total of 26+ minutes... so to say this stuff can get redundant would be an understatement. As far as harsh noise goes I like this material because it can have a dark edge, notably in biting tracks like "Step" where piercing feedback and possible vocals tear through the speakers relentlessly, but at the same time... this is a long disc without a great deal of true variety. "Nutrient" is a brief ambient piece, and the first moment on the entire disc (27 minutes in) that really lets up for a moment. "Cave" starts out with spacious hums and blips before caving in to the avalanche of feedback and distortion typical throughout this release, but it was nice to have an interesting little breather while it lasted... And "Unsoundness" is my favorite piece: A one-minute little ambient passage with some almost melodic ringing drones and slowly winding textures that ends all too soon before truly developing. The sound quality is nice and ripping with a good sense of raw distortion but no lack of sting. And let's not forget the sheer volume... yeah, it's loud. Yet again, as with all of the Snip-Snip releases I've encountered, 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 (bright red). 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 image of some steel girders through an open strip in the center. The back of the heavier insert has the tracklist and other such information. In my opinion the chief problem here is that the disc is just too long and one-sided. Of course there are individual nuances to every piece, but for the most part it does mostly sound alike, and since many of the tracks run seamlessly together it's sort of an unending attack that, were it shorter and more focused, could have possessed more impact. Not bad, but a tad boring. (5/10)
Running time - 62:15, Tracks: 15
[Notable tracks: Nutrient, Step, Unsoundness]
Snip-Snip Records - http://www.angelfire.com/electronic2/snipsnip/

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