Slasher Risk - Chillers Taken from Foxy Digitalis Thanks Mike!

SLASHER RISK “Chillers” (Baked Tapes)

Brooklyn’s Slasher Risk have been rewiring the sounds of guitar-based rock since late 2006, issuing a stream of cassettes and CD-Rs. Working with the ethic of bands like Fushitsusha or the Dead C, Slasher Risk combines noise and rock to create scorched-earth improvisations. The duo reveal a more sedate and pensive side with the release of “Chillers” on the solid Baked Tapes, stretching out their sound in an unhurried and blurry way.

Recorded live at the Knitting Factory in NYC at Pendu Sound’s NY Eye and Ear II Festival, the adrenaline-drenched murk of past Slasher Risk efforts like “Shoe Mania” is here transformed into a drifting electronic fire. Clouds of reverb and delay mutate drum hits into thunderous walls of dark-hued textures, while tape hiss and microphone distortion crackle and undulate together with spidery guitar work to create a slow yet turbulent sense of motion.

“Chillers” is long, and does have moments where its momentum flags, but the band skillfully works itself out of any dead-end passages before they overstay their welcome. The length and ambition of the piece outweigh any shortcomings–they just turn their amps on and go and go while managing to keep things interesting throughout. Influences of early Sonic Youth stand next to moments that recall Sightings, but Slasher Risk is ultimately its own beast. Even when they slow it down, they still burn. 8/10

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Millions - Shredded Heaven Taken from Foxy Digitalis Thanks Elliot!

MILLIONS “Shredded Heaven” (Baked Tapes)

Millions is the recording project of Brooklyn-based sound-artist David Suss. He’s self-released a ton of CDRs, put out some more via Obsolete Units and Abandon Ship (et al), and this c30 scorcher, limited to 60 copies, was released by Baked Tapes. The deep earth-digging/shaking drones that come alive on the two sides of “Shredded Heaven” will appeal to gloomy-depressives and the hopeful alike, as the sounds are absolutely suitable for either wall or sun-gazing, or whatever may lie in-between. Both tracks are fully absorptive, washing over the listener with thick, contemplative waves of seductive sonic pulse-fuzz.

Side A rips in with a static bath that completely soaks the space until a celebratory ray of light peeks in through the dense pattern. The trance that Suss produces here is undeniably joyful and flowing, as if a devastated body/soul is rising up from the thickest sludge of Being. Side B establishes a more eerie and apocalyptic mood with a whirring siren that spins around the minefield. The organ shimmers above a cavernous bass hum, materially grounding the gloom for a delayed guitar phrase to smoothly loom on. A monstrous static wall gradually builds, disrupting the open space, transforming the drone into a vertical ride toward everlasting night. No worries, though, because the lights get bright enough here to shine out even the darkest of roads. 8/10

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Driphouse - Romati & Gains Taken from Impose: The Future Thanks Jeremy!

DRIPHOUSE “Romati & Gains” (Baked Tapes)

Driphouse is Darren Ho, the guy who played in Racoo-oo-oon but not the mutated duo-form of that band, Wet Hair. Instead here’s his solo dream scores, Driphouse.

This tape was home recorded in Brooklyn in August 2009 “straight into computer soundcard,” with a Roland Alpha Juno-1 and a sweet delay pedal. The world’s basically at Mr. Ho’s finger tips with that potent one-two punch, and here he conjures barren landscapes and slow moving spirit vessels riding his woeful harpsichord melody. Like if Clockwork Orange was about sensitive kids driving around looking for meaningful new experiences instead of rape victims.

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Driphouse - Romati & Gains Taken from Foxy Digitalis’s Long Decline Thanks Brad!

DRIPHOUSE “Romati & Gains” (Baked Tapes)

“I went all weepy on Driphouse once before, but “Romati & Gains” demands attention cuz it’s one of my favorite tapes of the year, for sure. Minimal electro hypnoses, flying through pristine skies with liquid gold dripping off at lightspeed. I’m such a sucker for this stuff… subtle beats galore drive everything from the backseat. Daren Ho is on fire. I dunno what parts get me more… the inspired ’70s electronic compositional aspects or the total new age vibes that float on top. It’s all mixed-up, it’s all beautiful. I love how this tape just flows from one stop to the next, never losing focus and never getting off-track. Ho’s got some serious pop hooks lurking under veil here, too - a little something for all the kids. B-side is full of heavy meditation - points of light for sure, but a thick mass of synth mud keeps it grounded in a big ball of tension. Driphouse - love it more and more every day. Driphouse vinyl plz! I need it, damnit!”

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Chaos Majik - Cry of the 12th Aethyr Taken from Foxy Digitalis Thanks Robert!

CHAOS MAJIK “Cry of the 12th Aethyr” c30 (Baked Tapes)

CM, or Chaos Majik, is Todd Brooks. He founded a group called Pendu. They promote occultism, adhocism, and eroticism in art. This is my kind of dude. “Cry of the 12th Aethyr” is the latest tape from CM, out now on the awesome Baked Tapes label.

Brooks conjures the sound of CM through the use of handmade oscillators and feedback loops. The two pieces on “Cry of the 12th Aethyr” combine high-pitched sounds with a droning low-end. The scrapes and squalls rise and fall, while the persistent rumbles provide something closer to a static element for the proceedings. Everything is drenched and delayed; effects gently draped on top of the other.

This isn’t a revelation of experimental music– but that’s okay. I’m sure this stuff is even better live, especially considering CM kicks out these jams with his equipment housed inside a green suitcase. Brooks’ DIY approach has yielded a couple of tracks of strung-out, astral plane drone on “Cry of the 12th Aethyr.” You can’t complain about that. This is a damn good tape. 7/10 — Robert Oberlander

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