This is a reissue of the debut release of an old solo project from Deathpile's Jonathan Canady, originally recorded in 1997 and released on cassette in 1998, limited to 100 copies. This CD-R is remastered but also limited to 100 numbered copies, and all of the material was recorded live to tape with no overdubs using one analog synthesizer and some effects. The results are an hour's worth of pulsing, droning experimental noise that's not quite ambient, not quite harsh, in seven pieces that range from five to 20 minutes in length. The compositions are fairly minimal, with lots of oppressively thick textures and vibrating movement. I think if the recording had a little more clarity then some of the harsher textures would have more of a bite, which would definitely help things not feel so lumped together, but it's not so bothersome, really. I would perhaps complain that the release is a little one-sided, which is fine, though it might have played through better as one hour-long piece without any track dividers. There's certainly no real diversity worth mentioning, sans a few lulls of feedback or subtle shifts in movement, there's definitely a consistent pace and flow to the way each of the seven pieces pans out. Some of the longer pieces definitely feel a bit more atmospheric to me, perhaps because they simply persist, I'm not sure. I have to confess finding the bulk of the work to get tiresome due to a lack of atmosphere after a few minutes at a time, though. The disc comes in a slim DVD sized cases with xeroxed artwork and a few bits of text about the release, keeping it simple but rather effective for the most part. Could be better, could indeed be worse. In the end this is okay, but I can't say I'm overly intrigued or moved by it. As a document of a rare cassette from a side project of a more notable act it's not a bad reissue, but at 100 copies it's still not exactly in high demand or particularly "less rare" these days, so... perhaps this is one for completists?
[Stridulum]
Running time - 61:10, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: all seven are pretty even with one another]
Stridulum Recordings - http://www.stridulum.net
