Two new reviews from Chain D.L.K.:

BLÆRG, “Dysphoric Sonorities“.

After listening to Life Toward Twilight, I put this on and was not quite prepared for what came out of the speakers. BLÆRG unloads with both barrels, throwing down some harsh broken beats that reminds me a lot of Venetian Snares. But not all of it is so spastic. “Thrice Vexed” has its moments of calm mixed with the beats and “Crepuscular Harlotry” sounds like what would happen if there was a breakcore Bollywood soundtrack. Overall, this is complicated (but certainly not random), noisy beats mixed with lilting synth lines that provide a nice counterpoint. Of course there are the obligatory random samples as well to provide humor. The artwork also adds a bit of humor, with a woman wearing an octopus on her head. Certainly worth checking out, especially since you can get it for free on the label’s website. The disc weighs in at about 34 minutes.

Life Toward Twilight, “Blood”

I had previously reviewed Life Toward Twilight’s “We Waited For A Subtle Dawn,” so I was pleasantly surprised when this came in the mail. This is considerably different from their other disc. It sounds like they attempted to create the soundtrack to a disturbing movie, and the song titles seem to support this view - tracks like “Zombie Infestation” and “R’lyeh” (I’m a huge fan of Lovecraft’s literature, so this immediately caught my eye) provide a hint as to the kind of feeling that they are after. Overall, this disc works pretty well. Distant screams combine with atmospheric synth soundscapes and clanging metal to provide a heavy atmosphere. I would say that this is an excellent disc to pick up just in time for Halloween to scare the trick or treaters that come to your door. If Coil’s “Hellraiser” soundtrack wasn’t dark enough for you, this is a definite to pick up. If you have any doubts, you can get it for free on the label’s website. The only issue I see is that the disc is pretty short, weighing in at around 17 minutes, but it’s a fun 17 minutes.

Share

BLÆRG’s “Auspices and Vagaries” is now available on iTunes.

Share

AMNION, EXP 1

Now available exclusively as a free download via Bottle Imp Productions.

In a lonely room a boy sits, slowly turning the broken knobs on an old AM radio. Between the indistinct scraps of local ball games and talk show pundits he hears the thin traces of a far off signal, these flashes of choreographed static sounding somehow purposeful through the random noises. He adjusts the dial, moves between windows, fashions an antenna from a knotted slinky coil and is rewarded for his feeble efforts. The song of distant spaces reaches his ears. A song whose waves have been stretched as it passed through the hydrogen molecules of a murky nebula and compressed as it passed near the pulse of a dieing star and became a teaming choir as it gathered voices from a distant galaxy. So long a journey just to sing to one lonely boy.

Exp. 1 is the freshman composition of Amnion, pupil of Australia’s experimental maestro, Shinjuku Thief. It is a conglomerate of orchestrated pulses, hums and static that at times sounds more like the songs of stars through a radio telescope than a composed recording. It is a signal with a subtle elegance that will reward the studious listener.

Download for free in high quality 320kbps MP3 format.

Visit artist’s Myspace page.

Also available as a free download in 320kbps MP3 format:

Metria’s, “Leaving The Burning Building” - bleak Detroit industrial soundscapes.

Reminder: The limited edition 3″ for BLÆRG’s Auspices and Vagaries is still available, but copies are selling. If you want a copy, buy it now, before they are all gone.

Share

Limited edition Metria disc, “Leaving the Burning Building”, hand printed and assembled black bottomed CD-R via FromTheGut Records. We have 6 copies available. $10.

MP3s can be downloaded free via Bottle Imp Productions.

Metria “Burn your memories to the ground” sticker. $2.

Share

Now available, BLÆRG, “Auspices and Vagaries“.

Ever watch a 60’s movie set in the future? The kind where the sets are stark white with oddly shaped chairs in bright colors that don’t look the least bit comfortable, where the cars fly but are roughly the size of pontoons, where people get their meals by speaking into little boxes and out pops a plate with a small, unnaturally colored cube on it? Yes, it all looks futuristic and ultra-modern but it still, without a doubt, is stamped with the impression of an era long past – and it’s still really cool.

BLÆRG’s latest release, a 3″ CD by the name of “Auspices and Vagaries” is the perfect score to a meal of Soylent Orange or for a drink at the milk bar. It stirs together bits of futuristic rhythms, strains of jazzy flavor and a splash of retro flair into a wonderful little breakcore appetizer that leaves the palate whetted and the appetite craving more.

This 3″ CD-R is hand printed and assembled, and comes with an “Auspices and Vagaries” vinyl sticker. This album is strictly limited to 50 copies. Album can also be downloaded for free in 128kbps MP3 format. This could be the last BLÆRG album for a long time.

Buy CD / Buy Sticker / Free Download

Detail Photos of the CD:

Share