Reptiljan "The Hellbender Suite" CD
[Some Place Else]
Here we have 11 generally succinct tracks of glitchy noise and electronics from Finnish experimentalist Niko Skorpio, recorded from 2003 - 2005 and totaling just under a half-hour. Expect lots of wispy, crackling electronic textures, ranging from mangled fast paced beats and unintelligible vocal/musical samples to spurts of dark ambient soundscapes or buzzing, machinated textures. But know this: After the awesome subdued, sinister ambience of opener, "Dehibernate", nothing really sticks around for too long, so the end result is fairly frantically structured, and tracks skip from one to the next without much of an indication - so before you know it you'll be midway through the disc and not even know it! "Outauguration of the Chimp Zombie" is among the only tracks that gets significantly louder and harsher for the duration of its two minutes, complete with searing distortion, chaotic blips, and multiple layers of sampled vocals - including those of George (The "chimp zombie"?) W. Bush. The only composition that surpasses three-and-a-half minutes, the much longer "Kafka Snores" is a bit more subdued and consistent in its use of chopped up beats and warbled drones over distant wails of eerie hums (Which I'd love to isolate, because they sound incredible!), before breaking down to a light grade of sizzling distortion towards the close - which is when "All Songs Must Die" brings back the cutup beats and sporadic movements so dominant everywhere else to end things out. The packaging looks very nice, with lots of bright colors and dirty textures with interesting visuals and text arrangements. There's not a great deal of information provided, but what's here does at least look quite interesting, so that's cool. In large part this isn't really the kind of thing that I get into when it comes to experimental noise, but at the same time, the overall quality with which the release has been handled is something that I can respect and appreciate on several levels. The sound quality is super crisp and clear, the packaging looks excellent... it's just a really professional outing, and those efforts count. I realize that this is a short review, but the CD itself is actually surprisingly quick, and for the most part it plays out almost like one odd, lengthy selection. There's not all that much more to it! (6/10)
Running time - 27:09, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Dehibernate, Freegulls, Kafka Snores]
Some Place Else - http://www.someplaceelse.net

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