Controlled Bleeding - Odes To Bubbler [Soleilmoon Recordings - 2011]I guess Controlled Bleeding don't need much of an introduction. Even if probably they don't like the definition, they've been among the prime movers in industrial music, crossing every imaginable genre during the span of more than three decades.Sadly they lost two members in the last few years, Chris Moriarty and Joe Papa, but the latter is still featured on some tracks of this CD. "Odes To Bubbler" consists of a handful of new tracks along with several pieces that were previously released on various CD's and LP box sets. The style of many of the tracks here is disappointingly close to the Tzadik trademark avant/noisy/jazz sound, with a "standard" band formation. It doesn't do much for me, but I still appreciate some moments, bizarre scat vocals and tape/electronics abuse being the highlights. The real gem on this seventy-two minutes long CD is track number nine... "A Love Song (In Two Parts)": It finds Paul Lemos creating over nine minutes of excellent electronic harsh noise . It comes totally unexpected after a waterfall of John Zorn-like noisy improvisations, and it's a very welcome surprise. It’s bit of return to the good old days of "Knees And Bones" maybe? Really good stuff from a guy who certainly knows his noise craft very well. Unfortunately, the track ends with another short blast of jazzy noise, and from then on, the album goes back on track with a few ambient electronics exceptions. I'm sure lots will appreciate the majority of this album, since the noisy jazz tracks are very well recorded and loud as fuck, but it's just not really my thing. Recommended to fans the Tzadik label that may not be aware of this great band. Nicola Vinciguerra
|