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Oh man, I'm in love with these brieviews, I can't help it. I'm not going to do this every day but I can assure you that you'll be seeing more of them on Merchants Of Air.
The brieviews are also a good way to throw some singles and ep in your face, which is exactly what I'm going to do today... Enjoy... |
THE METAL DECK, why play boring card games when you can rock these?
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Dead Neanderthals / Sly & the Family Drone - Split 7"
heavy jazz / drone / experimental
I'm wearing my Dead Neanderthals t-shirt today, so this felt like the perfect moment to check out this little split. The Dutch heavy jazz combo joined forces with English act Sly and the Family Drone for a nice showcase of what both bands are capable of. Dead Neanderthals open with a repetitive, intense and noisy piece which, certainly live, will be quite hypnotic. This is an in-your-face jazz assault with drums and sax like there's no tomorrow. Luckily, Sly and the Family Drone provide a piece of calm and serenity on side b. It's a gloomy and eerie piece of dark drone ambient, driving on a sluggish tempo and continuously swelling. Highly recommended split, that's for sure.
The Inconsistent Jukebox - Bold Ego Fledgling
electronic
This single by English producer Barry Snaith sure is something else. I wasn't sure what exactly I could expect, perhaps something nice and friendly, easy-listening for the consumption based society we live in. However, what I got was quite surprising, distorted pop music, driving on breakbeats and eighties industrial, as if The KLF and Crash Course In Science decided to work together. It makes me wonder, what if The Prodigy and Miss Kittin join forces? The outcome might be something close to this single.
You can pre-order it on iTunes here, along with some neat remixes.
You can pre-order it on iTunes here, along with some neat remixes.
Strugg - Pull me out
industrial rock
A few months only after its 'Disorders in progress' EP (2015), French industrial rock outfit Strugg is back with a new full-length album called 'Flood' expected to be released this fall. In the meantime, the band unleashed the first excerpt of this upcoming effort with the single "Pull me out". I wasn't acquainted with this band but after hearing this single I definitely want more. Armed with a guitar and a bunch of machines, this duo blends the noise rock of Sonic Youth with the industrial flair of Nine Inch Nails. The song is immersive and intense and definitely gets your industrial ass shaking. If the whole album is like this, we just might be in for a treat this fall.
Cynthia - Between two worlds
drone / ambient / experimental
The mystery is great in this one. Behind this project are a couple of a well-known and respected artists, who use a pseudonym and prefer to stay anonymous. It's mastered by Sylvia. Images, screaming & shouting were done by Sale. Nothing else is known about this project, at least not by me. What I do know, is that this is an enormous dose of minimal drone ambient, alternating with experimental noise and a whole bunch of weird soundscapes. It's a strange, often horrifying trip through the minds and imagination of two people. The opening track is a 36 minutes epos of drones and noises. The other songs are shorter but equally intense and mesmerizing. Fascinating stuff
Howling Larsons & N Lymperopoulos - Parmenides Proem
ambient
Another brilliant release from the Sombre Soniks label. The Howling Larsons is a project from R Loftiss (The Gray Field Recordings) & Alan Trench (Temple Music). For this release, they delivered a massive, ever evolving piece of experimental ambient and drones, based on the writings of Parmenides, the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. There is only one track, lasting 45 minutes but it feels like a whole album, varied, thematic and deeply immersive. Besides the soundscapes, the singing bowls and the drones, you can hear vocals, recited by Nikolaos in Ancient Greek using the Byzantine tonal system. A mystical and mystifying release from a very talented duo, definitely recommended...
