Cruudeuces – Exile Digs [Tape Drift]

This is the first I’ve heard from, West Masser, Cruudeuces and apparently he concocts his sludge mainly from electronics, tapes and clarinet.
“Side A” slides to a start with curling static joined by cascading sheets of clarinet and delayed microphone rumbles. Some harsher noise kicks in though it mostly wanders in the background. The tape has an interesting sense of depth, where many times the more active elements are backgrounded while smoother, steadier tones are pushed to the forefront. Its failure to hide the turmoil within gives the piece a pervading uneasiness. Though the squirming feedback lessens at points, the tape never gives itself over to the idea of gentle euphoria. In fact, after a lull, the piece seems to return with an even greater unrest. Persistent throbs and squelch are the name of the game. Though there’s a small revelation of relative calm in the last third which finds quiet without sacrificing the identity the track has created for itself. Faint whispers of clarinet present themselves and grow slowly but slightly and the side goes out on their seagull-like echoes.
"Side B" emerges from static with a looped pulse. That hypnotic pulse remains the focus as the piece expands slowly enfolding more and more layers of sound. What sounds like bowed drones, electronic burbles and synth sustain all congeal gradually morphing the simple loop into a more complex form. Kinda like starting with a bare bone and slowly seeing the muscle tissue forming around it, giving it shape. The back half of the track sees some new loops introduced adjusting the rhythm temporarily though the track doesn't change greatly over its duration. That's kind of what makes it work though, definitely an exercise in subtlety without necessarily using a subtle pallet.
The tape looks to still be in print. I recommend picking up all the other new releases too as Tape Drift has really been on a roll lately.