There's been a little stack of 7inches building up recently and its high time they get reviewed (expect some more 7inchers to make appearances in the coming weeks.
We start things off in dark territory with a 45rpm split noise single by Northeasterners Isa Christ and Cruudeuces.
This is my first encounter with Isa Christ (proprietor of Idiot Underground) and his side "Ruin Song" is a straight up harsh-ass rager. From the moment the needle drops, you're subsumed into thick, grainy crunch. Mr. Christ flicks in a few warbly hi-pitched tones, sounding like he's cutting up a recording of a construction site. Jackhammers pounding, heavy machinery lurching, the cathartic clang of metal caving in on itself. The side is pretty good; it's relentlessly active. But on the other hand, after all the times I've listened to it, it has never proven to be particularly memorable. But if you're looking for 100 mile per hour drive to the harsh side, uh, you don't have to look any more.
The proprietor of Ghetto Naturalist Series, Nathaniel Brennan's tapes/clarinet murk project Cruudeuces delivers some nice work on the flipside. "Gull Slang" opens up with just that. Brennan's clarinet is relaying some conversation in which seagulls are hurling insults at each other at the top of their lungs. Over a burly bass tone, Brennan lets loose a shitstorm of feedback-drenched reedwork. The piece is especially nice when he lightens up and you just get quiet intimations of clarinet intermixed with all the other throbbing tones crawling all over each other. The track feels too short (yet it still hits the 4 1/2 minute mark) but Brennan's signature strength is on display here: texture, texture, texture. Even though everything is looped and delayed to hell, he always has a handle on everything and navigates his piece with a sure hand.
Still in print so hit up the labels.
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