This surprisingly brief EP sees the pairing of two Swedish power electronics acts that I'm not yet familiar with. Shift takes side A with "Battle Head", which consists of one crushing industrial rhythmic loop with a throb of percussion over some winding feedback and grinding distorted vocals or samples (I can't really tell). My only complaint is that the pulsing, explosive pulse is mixed much louder than the more interesting background textures, so it's impossible to get a real feel for what's going on in the track as many of the most intriguing details are lost in the shuffle - and then the piece ends very quickly with a surge of crispy distortion. Operativ Permanent features Lirim Cajani from Institut and also drops one track, "You Won't Always Have Your Friends Around", which is totally traditional power electronics with a raw distorted backdrop that has a little bit of a rhythm to it, while reverberated distorted shouts fight to be heard in the core of the mix. It's another short, consistent piece, but the more balanced mix gives it a little more bite than Shift's track. The record comes in a black and white sleeve (hand-numbered out of 300 copies) with artwork for each band, and inside is one photo of three individuals (all wearing ski masks and two wearing "HATE" t-shirts) who one would have to assume are the artists behind the two projects. Not a bad release overall, though the Operativ Permanent track is more effective. I'd certainly like to hear more from both of these artists though, as Shift seems to have something intriguing to offer, and there doesn't appear to be but so much of this tried and true power electronics going around these days, so these two could definitely start to help fill that void.
[Heidenl?rm]
Running time - 7:00 (approximately), Tracks: 2
[Notable tracks: both are interesting, but Operativ Permanent wins in the end]
Heidenl?rm - http://www.heidenlarm.com
