Concrete - Monument [Vomit Bucket Productions - 2014]Concrete is a new HNW project from Germany- it’s all the work of Saarbruecken based Wayne, who is known for his harsh noise project Wormhead, and running the noise/ experimental label Puzzle Records. Monument is the projects first release, and it comes in the form of CDR release that offers up two slices of fixed, dense, and unrelenting walled noise. The first track is entitled “Monument # 1”, and this comes in at just shy of the hour mark. The ‘wall’ is a very thick, unforgiving, and battering example of fixed walled noise- it’s built around the following elements: a endless pummelling yet slight roaming 'n' bass bother drone, a thick mesh of jittering mid-ranged static, and a billowing rumble. These elements are fixed together into a taunt & all engulfing mesh of overloaded sound- to start with the track is quite effective in it’s intense blocking out sonic thick-ness, and I quite like the way the bass bothered drone seems to be worming in & out of the ‘walls’ rapid texturing. But sadly this initial interest starts to fade after about twenty mintues or so, with the remainder of the track feeling texturally bland, dull, and more than a little boring. The second track comes in the form of “Monument #2”, and this track comes in at the fifteen minute mark. Once again this track is an example of fixed ‘n’ pummelling walled noise, but this time the ‘walls’ depth & weight seems slightly lessened. The ‘walls’ built around the following elements: a endless jittering almost speed up rain type static descent, and this slightly roaming rumbling tone. To me this track rather brought to mind watching a very manic & persistent rain storm, with rumbles of distant thunder like fluctuation in the back ground. I must say I found this second track a lot more satisfying & rewarding than the first track, and it kept me locked in through-out. As debut releases go there is certainly some promise here- I just feel there needs to be concentration on focus in on utilizing more enchanting & rewarding textures. I’d be interested to hear how this project developes in the future, and it’s always great to have new additions to the euro HNW scene- it’s just a pity the first track dragged on far, far too long for it own good. Roger Batty
|