Tractor/Geisha "Split" 10"
[SuperFi]
First up here is the UK trio Tractor, whose sole contribution to side A is "gHost", which runs 10 minutes of pulsing guitar noise and modest percussive beats - so expect lots of grating string scraping; droning feedback; and distant, distorted screams fighting for space with distant, subdued percussion. The recording really isn't doing anything for me as there's an overbearing amount of tape hiss or something hovering over everything, and as noisy as the composition is in and of itself, I think the sound quality would've needed to be much clearer and crisper to really do justice to the subtle details and textures that probably exist within these individual elements. On rare occasion the piece hints at building into a powerful surge of sludgy power chords, but they never really take it that far, so it's somewhat of a redundant offering when all is said and done. Also a UK trio, Geisha follows with another single-track contribution, opening with subdued clean guitars and massive basslines in "Blood Around the Mechanism", which eventually builds in with crackling distortion and pitch-shifted vocals that lend a noisier side to the track - not unlike a slightly more effective take on what Tractor was doing on side A. Their recording is similar as well, at least in terms of being muddy and overly raw, but... it seems to work out barely better for Geisha, though I'd still state that a clearer sound would've amped up the power as well as highlighting the intricacies of the textures being used. Perhaps the rugged sound is more suited to Geisha since they kind of break down into a less structured attack of more full blown noise, but whatever the case both of these acts could sound significantly more interesting and menacing were they willing to put a little more time into their recording techniques. The 10" is pressed on ultra thick vinyl and comes in a plain black sleeve with a sticker that wraps around the side containing nothing but text information for each band - so their only space for artwork comes on the center labels that show through the sleeve's cutouts. Therefore, it does look pretty boring, though there could be something said for its simplicity. For those interested, the record is numbered of only 330 copies, so... do what you will with that information. I'm honestly not very taken by either of these bands when it all comes down to it. I think each of these tracks is rather boring and monotonous, and what promise the individual compositions do possess can't really come close to making the difference since the recordings are inefficient. Oh well, you can't win 'em all! (4/10)
Running time - 20:00 (approximately), Tracks: 2
[Notable tracks: I'm not particularly interested in either track]
SuperFi Records - http://www.superfirecords.co.uk

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