Ultra Bonbon - Paradise Vol. 1 [Bonbon Bruises]/Ultra Bonbon - Paradise Vol. 3 [Bonbon Bruises]

A couple of quick tapes from the Bonbon Bruises crew up in Canada.
"Restoration" on the first side of the first tape is probably my favorite of the bunch so it's a good foot to start on. I'm not exactly sure what Ultra Bonbon employs beyond the nebulous "electronics" tag. This track is super jittery, vomiting up all sorts of half formed melodies. The sounds are distorted but not particularly harsh, allowing the melodic sensibilities to really come through. There's even a part towards the end that's a straightforward, unadorned melodic breakdown. The track stays energetic and engaging through its duration, thanks in part to the duo's unwillingness to let a sound sustain for more than a split second. The overall piece is a structure made of exceedingly small splinters making for a very "alive" track. The b-side features "Ancient Tree" which is quite a bit different. It's essentially a duet between some kind of synth/drum machine and what sounds like a keyboard set on "steel drum." It's a really odd configuration but against the odds it works. The melodic presence is important in keeping the track engaging as are small details such distorted eruptions that vanish as quickly as they appear.
On Vol. 3, "The Perfect Laws of Science" gets freaky with a malfunctioning oscillator and drum machine and alien vocals. Some sections flail around and some are incredibly pummeling but the piece in general is just wigging out at every possibility. The whole track is pretty nuts and made all the more confusing with the addition of subtitles "science is not better than the people who pursued after it" and "the laws of science are perfect but the application is not." Is this track meant to be an example of an imperfect application of the laws of science? I have no effin' clue. "Triumphal Fall" on the flip side seems more mild mannered at first before distorted synth swoops drop in. There's a bizarre oscillator melody that hums along against swelling synth notes for the majority of the track. Even though the whole thing is draped lightly in crusty distortion, it approaches being both pretty and hypnotic.
Ultra Bonbon is definitely one of the more interesting noise crews out there cause even with these two tapes, UB made four jams that are each pretty different from each other but when taken together, go to define a single sound. Each tape comes in a mini manila envelope with sweet art and an insert. Vol. 1 is gone but Vol. 3 is available and limited to 30.