Deconstructive Screwdriver Criticism "Moods" CD
[Twist of Fate]
Eight tracks of minimal experimental noise that tends to be on the dark ambient side, but has the ruggedness and atmosphere of harsh/death industrial influences at times. Manipulated vocal screams occasionally appear deep in the mix, and I actually quite enjoy the vocal delivery, but for the most part it's lots of windy tones and textures, some low hums and fizzled distortion mixed fairly low, some synths that have a spacey quality to them, etc. Random field recordings of clanking noises and such are used, but they're a little disruptive to some otherwise hypnotic and tastefully simplistic material. The tracks run together, basically forming one large whole that's divided into parts, some of which are stronger than others. "Alone" is a ridiculous piece, for example, starting with around two minutes of scraping/banging a thin metal bowl or something, then suddenly shifting to whispered vocals under heavy effects. Then there's "Sleep": One minute of silence. I can understand the purpose within the context of the CD, but that's still a cheesy decision in my opinion. On the other hand, "Dream" is an excellent track, made up solely of succinct melodic synths with a lot of depth and a consistent, flowing approach that's free of disturbances. The recording is a bit too flat, there's not enough low-end, so things sound hollow and one-dimensional. Even those tracks that do have a lot of bass density (like the minimal ambient drones and ethereal melodies of "Wander") tend to be mastered very quietly, so you have to up the volume a lot to hear the details. The entire disc needs a louder output volume, to be honest. Very few moments are truly bright and bounce out as far as the levels are concerned. Each copy of this free CD-R comes in a case with unique hand-painted artwork on the cover, and the face of the disc has been spraypainted a misty matte blue/white mixture. An insert with the tracklist is glued to the back of the cover, and another insert is tucked inside with some text about personality disorders. It's not the most exciting package in the world, but it's alright. For the most part it works, I just don't feel like the visuals particularly convey the weight of the concepts behind the release. There's some excellent work herein, but it's scattered around in disjointed compositions that seem to lack direction, and as a whole the release falls rather short because of it. I can appreciate the diversity, but the compositions need more fluid arrangements to pull off the shifts in mood. (3/10)
Running time - 49:57, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Anger, Dream]
Twist of Fate - http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/tof/

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