Anonymous - Gaines's Mill [Bored Bear Recordings - 2014]Anonymous is/was a mysterious euro walled noise project, which focused in on fixed HNW themed around historic battles and war atrocities. Gaines's Mill was the last (final?) release from the project- it appeared in October 2014, and came in the form of CDR on Irelands Bored Bear Recordings. The release takes in two thirty minute walls, and the theme here is Battle of Gaines's Mill. This took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, and was the third Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War. The plain white CDR comes in a plastic slip sleeve, and this features a black & white cover- on the front we have a bleak picture of body littered woodland battle field, and on it’s reverse we get a write-up about the battle, along with a list of the number of causalities/ losses from the both the union & confederacy sides. The tracks are simply entitled "Part 1" & "Part 2". The first ‘wall’ is built around a fairly agitated yet seared selection of layers- we have: a blunt & semi muffled galloping, a thinner rotating snapping pattern, and a crisp ‘n’ cold looped tumbling. These elements are weave together into a suitable stark, detailed yet seared wall, which very much brings to mind amass of horses & carriage converging in muddy battle. "Part 2" brings together a collection of dense & spinning noise layers- we have distant low end ranging, a muffled mid range rapid churn, and a roasting yet thinner wooden spoke like rotation. These elements are fed together to create a taut & thickly meshed wall, and once again it brings to mind suitable images of amass charging horses & the roar of war. Both ‘walls’ here are acceptable slices of fixed and unforgiving HNW- of the two I’d say I prefer "Part One", as the elements used here are a little more tonally varied & appeal. "Part Two" is ok in it’s rapid & searing depth, but at times the layers seem to meld together in a fairly unappealing mass. This certainly isn’t my favourite release from this project, but it's not bad either- all in all another ok war themed release from Anonymous. Roger Batty
|