Top Bar
Musique Machine Logo Home ButtonReviews ButtonArticles ButtonBand Specials ButtonAbout Us Button
SearchGo Down
Search for  
With search mode in section(s)
And sort the results by
show articles written by  
 Review archive:  # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Cherry Blossoms At Night - Bulger [Palinopsia Recordings - 2015]

Bulger was the first physical release from this northern English project who creates intense & bleak walled noise . It appeared in May 2015, and came in two different versions- a pro cdr ltd to 30 copies on Australian Palinopsia Recordings, and a  cassette version ltd to ten  copies on DeathSex Electronics, which added in an extra track. I’m reviewing the CDR version of the release.

The release takes it name & theme from the infamous abduction & murder of James Bulger. Bulger was a 2 year old boy from Liverpool Uk, and in 1993 he was snatched from the local shopping center  by two ten year old, who later tortured then murdered the toddler.  The case is one of the most disturbing of British murder cases, due to the age of the perpetrators- it also added fuel  to the fire of the  film censorship debate that was going on in UK the 1990’s, as it was wrongly connected with the film Childs Play.

The white label & minimal black text CDR comes in a doubled side pro-printed sleeve, which takes in a black & white collage of newspaper head-lines about the case which are under laid by the infamous CCTV footage of the two boys abducting  Bulger from the shopping center.

The disc has a running time of just shy of 70 minutes, and takes in three lengthy ‘walls’.  The first track is entitled “Bulger”, and this just over twenty two minute track is a unforgiving example of thick ‘n’ nasty walled noise. The track is very layer dense and shifts between boorish & blunt roasting, rapid & coarse static rumbles, and deep meaty judders which are ribbed with searing static edges.  The tracks certainly an all out attack on the sonic senses, but to my ears it seemed to lack focus & discipline- as it seemingly shifts at random between the textures- though it’s definitely still very much HNW.

Second  up we have “Child A”( due to the ages of the perpetrators were called Child A & B)- this track comes in at the just under the nineteen minute mark.  I found this track a lot more appealing than the first, as it seemed to be a bit more urgent & focused, also the textures are more rewarding too. It’s built around a galloping rumble, and this is topped off with a louder hissing tipped agitated & taut jittering texture.  This track has a nice venomous & seared intensity to it, and I’d say it’s my favorite of the three tracks here.

Last up we have “Child B”, and this is the longest track here at the 28.40 mark. This track is built around a thick mesh of rapid rumbling ‘n’ deep galloping textures, which are tensely stitched by crisp static jittering n’ highly pressured air bubbling. As the track moves along I can make out a few subtle shifts between both textures, but mainly it’s a fairly firm affair. This tracks ok, and the textures do suck you in, I just felt it was maybe a bit too long for it’s own good.

So all in all I found Bulger is somewhat of mixed affair- track one was definitely intense but lacked focus, track two was both effective & intense, while the last track offered up rewarding  textures but felt too over long.

Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

Roger Batty
Latest Reviews

Cherry Blossoms At Night - Bulger
Bulger was the first physical release from this northern English project who creates intense & bleak walled noise . It appeared in May 2015, and came in ...
290324   Piranha - Piranha(DVD)
280324   Typhoon Club - Typhoon Club(B...
270324   Jerzy Skolimowski Collection ...
260324   Latex Choker - Sealed
260324   Occlusion - 59: No Input Wall
260324   Nihil Impvlse - Anabasis
260324   Marta Forsberg - Sjunger För...
260324   The New Boy - The New Boy( Th...
250324   The Stargazer’s Assistant - ...
250324   Liza Lim - Annunciation Trip...
Latest Articles

The Music of Clay Ruby & Burial H...
Over the last couple of decades Wisconsin native, Clay Ruby has been creating some of the world’s finest dark electronic music under the Burial Hex mon...
280324   The Music of Clay Ruby & Buri...
290224   Sutcliffe No More - Normal Ev...
100124   Occlusion - The Operation Is...
181223   Best Of 2023 - Music, Sound &...
051223   Powerhouse Films - Of Magic, ...
181023   IO - Of Sound, Of Art, Of Exp...
210923   Lucky Cerruti - Of Not so Fri...
290823   The Residents - The Trouble W...
110723   Yotzeret Sheydim Interview - ...
250523   TenHornedBeast - Into The Dee...
Go Up
(c) Musique Machine 2001 -2023. Twenty two years of true independence!! Mail Us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=comBottom