vongut "Vongut" (jujufrootcoop)

[[$5 // Edition of 10 // https://jujufrootcoop.bandcamp.com/album/vongut ]]

At the time of my writing this, there are only four copies remaining but I expect them to go quickly.    These are two songs from Canadian noise maker vongut and I'm not sure why I've heard the name jujufrootcoop before but it does ring a bell with me also.

Each of these songs (and thus side of the cassette) is around a minute and a half of harsh noise.  It's distorted static that keeps blasting right until it cuts off at the very end.   I can hear words at times either being spoken or screamed but they are muffled behind the cloud of it all.

Even though this is something that I will probably not be able to get on cassette (By the time I get the money and all the stars align they'll be sold out for sure) there are two other cassette releases from vongut, though the "Demo" lets you order it but has a footnote that it is sold out so I'm not sure what's going on there.

If nothing else, this is a nice sampling of what vongut can do as I hope to hear more of this and hopefully at least one of the next reviews I do ("BitchSlitter" most likely) will be as a cassette.

Additional Links: vongut Bandcamp

Pare Ohm / JWPaton (Junk Mnemonic)

[[$5 AUD // Edition of 10 // https://junkmnemonic.bandcamp.com/album/jm-1 ]]

This is the first release from Junk Mnemonic and it is a split between two artists.     It has a cassette release though it is limited to only ten and comes from Australia so I'm doing it digitally because I feel as if I should only do digital reviews from this point going forward if it is something special such as this.

Pare Ohm's piece begins with that sound of an old furnace perhaps, but something of that nature making some sort of noise that is just dragging out in a drone way.     It is almost definitely the sound of some kind of plugged in appliance dying but I can't place what one exactly.    It somehow has this almost rusty sound to it, like I imagine whatever it is being metal for that reason, because it is rusting out and dying.    The sounds continue in this way and it begins to sound like a horror movie somehow as well.      It quiets down then shifts in the jingling of bells.    This fades in and out which reminds me more of space than anything else.   After a short pause of sorts we move from what I can assume to be the first movement into the second, though it's still Pare Ohm and would still be Side A on the cassette.

This has become quieter now.   Still the jingles of sorts but more like a spatial glass structure being built instead.   It comes through in gently crashing waves.    I keep thinking it might just be the interlude ending, as it takes breaks, but it does come back interminently and as such I can feel this as being the "Mouth Breather" portion.   A slight hint of sonar has presented itself in the background and we've gone from space to underwater.   I do not recommend breathing out of your mouth while underwater.   Drum sticks seem to be hitting together now.   Synth beats are kicking in with these bamboo stick type of tones following in a rhythm.   The inhales and exhales of the title also sound like they could be the hiss of a snake.   This all slows to an end.

JWPaton begins next with two tracks joined into one only there is no interlude this time around it would seem.    It begins with a crackling, shattering of glass type of sound that could be harsh noise but it could also somewhat just as easily convert into industrial by the way it's going.    It has that electricity sound to it, like if you stick your hand in an electric socket and are getting fried.   It's pretty cool because it makes me think of the Marvel villain (and Spider-Man foe) Electro taking on a Transformer.   If that is not yet a comic book crossover it needs to happen.

This all comes crashing down in the hum of a dial tone, though it does kind of more closely resemble someone sitting on a keyboard for some reason (the musical one, not the type I'm typing on)   Some rather sharp feedback follows and I'm not entirely putting it past this piece to be industrial still for reasons that I could still imagine it being in a boiler room.  (To the extent that I want to look up when Mankind and Undertaker had the boiler room brawl and watch it)

And now the screaming is breaking on through, crushing any notions I had of it being industrial and turning it into harsh noise.    It was building to that moment and I should have heard it coming the first time, but wow what a payoff.   It ends with that organ drone sound once again but it does have quite the force behind it.

Both of these artists are bringing something original and vital to the table with this release and it is something that really must be heard.

Jonáš Gruska "Nočné oscilácie pre jedného" (LOM)

[[SOLD OUT // Edition of 10 // https://zvukolom.bandcamp.com/album/no-n-oscil-cie-pre-jedn-ho ]] 

On each of these four songs by Jonáš Gruska there is a distinct connection in the way that the songs are structured, yet they each have their own sound as well.    It reminds me of what would happen if an artist took a song like "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and played it on a guitar, then on a violin and so on with other string instruments.    They are all connected, yet they are not all the same.

The first track has these beeping whirrs to start things off and it sounds like the changing of frequencies.    This goes into a looping pattern which comes out with a kind of pinball game noise to it as well.    If I was listening to this on cassette or somehow not paying as close attention to Windows Media Player, I'd still hear the distinction into the second, quieter track whih is comprised more of blips and clicks like the drum machine of Phil Collins

As the second track grows in volume and tempo it gives way to the sound of glasses, really glass bottles being played as musical instruments.    We end with beeping, much like a hospital machine, which delivers sonic whirrs behind it and it almost has a sound where it could be in space.

There is guitar feedback almost out of nowhere, yet it flows so smoothly still, and then it turns into that hum of a drone and I feel that should be how it ends, as it would fade out as such but instead it gets this one last whoosh to lift us up before the end.    It's the sound of a toy whistle, maybe even a kazoo but in an electric sense.

The only way to get this cassette now is second hand but if I happen to see it out there in the cassette world I would be eager to try and get my hands on it.    Until then all we can really do is continue to download and listen to it from the Bandcamp page and then hope that one day maybe it will be pressed again.

WORKER/PARASITE "Proletariat EP" (Opal Tapes)

[[$8 // edition unknown //  https://workerparasite510.bandcamp.com/album/proletariat-ep]]

The first song on the "Proletariat EP" cuts like the whirr of a helicopter blade with static glitches mixed in.   The heavy noise reminds me of dreamcrusher on some levels and then it quickly changes into the second song.    "Bag of Beans" is a bit more upbeat, with beat loops and highhats added in as well.   There is something about the way that the tones sound, as if they're not proper drums and the such, but they do have a nice rhythm and overall electronic feel to them.

As the rest of this EP goes, the songs tend to lean towards the electronic side of things and really just seemed to have that glitch feel on the first song.    Sometimes there can be noises here and there that could be traced back to the original glitch, but for the most part this is electro-dancing fun.  
Hints of 8bit can come out towards the end and at one point there is a reoccurring whistle sound that is somewhat out of place.    I was so into the zone and focused when I was first listening to this that when the whistle noise came out I was looking around, wondering where that sound was coming from as it has that sort of smoke detector going off vibe to it.

This specific Bandcamp site gives no indication as to what this is an edition of exactly, but it does tell me that only eight remain at the time of my writing this which is why I went the digital route- there were so few copies left.   It was available from Opal Tapes originally but has since sold out there.  

So if you are not fortunate enough to get one of the last remaining copies of this cassette, it is still worth a listen either by downloading it or simply streaming.    The asking price for the cassette is $8, so if you're going to download it you should give the artist maybe four or five bucks so the music can continue to be made.

Additional Links: Opal Tapes // Opal Tapes Page for This Release