THREE FROM TRIPTYCH TRENCHER

Carl Annarummo runs Triptych Trencher, a DIY label and printing press based in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Known for releasing CD-Rs mostly, these are Carl’s first three cassette releases. The 3 mysterious tapes he sent me came with almost no info... not even an artist name! All I had to go on was a catalog number. That’s not to say these tapes are minimally packaged. Each of them comes with some sort of small artifact that makes you wonder if Carl has been raiding his Grandma’s closet for old photos and documents. After digging up some info online I discovered that apparently Carl is responsible for all of the music on all three of these tapes. They are each limited to 33 hand numbered copies and are available for $4/usa $5/world by paypaling funds to oldwesty@gmail.com.

Says Carl... ...
“but really, fuck money, lets trade.
even if you want to send me mix tapes
or a box of junk.”

CLARENDON HOLY EXCERPTS - c32 (Triptych Trencher)

The tape starts and the shit is fucking gross. Is it the treble crackling and cackling or is it the vomit-esque snorting distortion? I don’t know. It bursts in with the gross and doesn’t stop with the gross. This appears to be the “best of” Carl’s practice tapes recorded over two years. It’s pretty good too. Nothing amazing or ground breaking but still a pretty fun listen (and what do I now about breaking ground anyway?). The stuttering low end thumps in the middle of side 1 remind me of a trashier version of Canada’s D/A A/D. Get this tape if you like harsh noise that sounds like motorcycles and/or religious chanting and/or infomercials and/or anything you can run through a shitload of effects pedals. Mine came packaged with 6 totally awesome faded pictures of old people from the 1970’s and 80’s. It’s weird to own pictures of complete strangers who are probably dead now.

AIRFORCE JOYRIDE - c32 (Triptych Trencher)

Another 1/2 hour of rumble and crumble from Carl Annarummo. Side 1 starts off with a mudslide of distortion but soon quiets down to allow for a cavernous snailpaced rhythm to be heard. The “loud, quiet, loud” thing is in effect here with lots of changups and dynamic shifts. Swirling hiss-tortion starts off side 2 and slowly gives way to more of the brooding feedback laced muddy electronics of side 1. Overall, a pretty dark sounding (mostly) harsh noise excursion. Came with a picture from 1941 of a little boy who looks like me when I was 8 years old. Fucking creepy.

DUEL FALCONS - c32 (Triptych Trencher)

“Peace and quiet never sounded so good”. So says the Triptych Trencher website. I couldn’t agree more. This is the sound of 100,000 pounds of nature crushing your skull. What happened is Carl made some field recordings at a local arboretum and as far as I can tell, upon returning home he ran the tapes through the washing machine, then through the dishwasher, then through a chain of effects straight to a tape deck. This is definitely my favorite of the three Triptych Trencher tapes. After a few minutes of the first side you can still hear bits of PBS-like conversation sneaking in and out of the distortion while the chirping birds have become a huge clamouring mess. Side 2 is even more harsh and has almost no recognizable trace of the source material except for a siren that creeps about here and there. Mine came with two “Monmouth Workshop” paystubs from 1976. I can’t believe that after working almost 12 hours this person only got paid $8.82!

-FRED

FLESHOBEDIENCE - Demo #1 tape (Self Released)

FLESHOBEDIENCE is a project from Marietta, Georgia. This is Kurt's first release and honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. I mean c’mon... the dude is just mailing these things out for free. So imagine my surprise when I popped in the tape and discovered it’s actually quite good. Harsh distorted vocals, wailing feedback and warbling lo-fi synth crust can only mean one thing right class? Right... power electronics! This is some mucked up shit too. For almost 15 minutes FLESHOBEDIENCE tortures the listener with his thick syrupy mess of electronics and black metal shrieks interspersed with obnoxious mic feedback. It could benefit from a little more forward motion but whatever, I mean this is noise afterall. My only real gripe... After the first side ended I flipped the tape over to discover there wasn’t a second side. What’s up with one sided tapes anyway? One sided records I can understand, but tapes? Boo hoo. Overall, a very solid first effort. Comes on a black tape with “FLESH OBEDIENCE” carved into it and a xeroxed j-card with minimal information and no art. Contact Kurt for a copy. Who knows, he’ll probably mail it to you for free.flesh_obedience@hotmail.com.

-FRED

THREE FROM LOST IN THE VOID RECORDS

I recently got a package from Mikey at Lost in the Void records outta Texas. He sent me 3 CD-Rs. The sleeve art on these releases reminds me of some mid-90’s grindcore 7”s or something. Rough cut ‘n paste artwork and shitty computer fonts printed on bright colored cardstock. Like Bred on Deception, Avulsion, Godstomper, or Captain Cleanoff. Musically these CDs are nowhere near what those bands play(ed) but the artwork definitely brings me back to the days of scanning the dollar bins at Amoeba or Streetlight Records in search of shitty grindcore records. That's not to say that these releases are shitty. Far from it actually. Anyway, all three of these CD-Rs are available for $3 ea. ppd (intl. add extra postage) from...

Mikey / Lost in the Void Records
184 Sandy Ridge Rd.
Nacogdoches, TX 75964 USA

lostinthevoid@yahoo.com
www.myspace.com/lostinthevoidrecords

“...trades welcome and preferred.”




INSOMNIA / MB10 - split CD-R (Lost in the Void)

INSOMNIA (A.K.A. Jason Vizmanos) starts things off Illinois style with some very lo-fi squiggletronics. Lots of human voice source material bleeding through the tinny waves of cheapo distorted gunk. Total analog meltdown. I like it but I think INSOMNIA’s tracks could really benefit from an EQ boost... like a severe EQ boost, especially in the bass and low-mid frequencies. But what do I know? Maybe the itty bitty treblecentric AM radio sound is what he’s going for for. After 3 tracks from INSOMNIA, MB10 gets a chance to lay down 6 tracks of reverb drenched hissing madness and oddball weirdo noise. MB10 (A.K.A label boss, Mike Waggoner) has a strong grasp on dynamics, making sure not to pile on the harsh for too long. I really like the choppy start and stop insanity of most of these tracks. There’s a constant forward motion not found in a lot of noise which makes it feel like it’s actually taking you somewhere. He definitely knows how to create an interesting listening experience and does so with these 6 tracks.




EVERETT ROSE - “I’d Like to Kill You” CD-R (Lost in the Void)

Ummm... OK this is obviously a terrible joke. A terrible, terrible joke. The kind that makes you laugh at how not funny and terrible it is. Basically Everett Rose is a trashy redneck “tribute” to Wesley Willis. Wait a minute... am I laughing? Is this funny? I can’t tell if I’m laughing with or at Everett Rose. Check this CD out if you like extremely stupid and offensive music. Don’t check this CD out if you are at all a fan of Wesley Willis.




ACIN / MB10 - split CD-R (Lost in the Void)

Mike Scrivens’ project, ACIN’s first track, “Alive” starts things off with a burly synthy buzz which turns into more swirling crackle and buzz and the shit just doesn’t let up. Musically it reminds me of when my girlfriend’s trying to give me a buzz-cut and the shitty $10 shaver I bought starts crapping out (which happens every time we shave my head). ACIN’s tracks have a very “classic” harsh noise sound. Actually it's more like a slower, more contemplative version of all those spastic japanese “classics”. Of ACIN’s 4 tracks my favorite is the last one, “Undertow” because of it’s weighty buzz and bubbling crackle. Keeping in the “classic” vein, MB10 comes back and delivers 4 tracks of over the top pedal noise. These MB10 tracks are overall more harsh and in my opinion, even more enjoyable than the ones on the split with INSOMNIA. My favorite MB10 track on this release is “Invaded Space”, total feedback loop insanity left in it’s buzzy raw & unedited state. Apparently MB10 has been around since the early 90’s which would explain a lot. This shit is good. Wait... Can you believe I used the word "buzz" five times in this review.

-FRED

CIRCLE SIX - “Momentary” 3” CD-R (Annuit Coeptis)

Alright! This is the kind of release that really holds my attention. 4 tracks on a 3” means this is perfect for all the other ADD noisers out there. All 4 of the tracks are so different that you’d think they were done by completely different artists. The first track, “Frozen” starts things of with some mellow feedback that sounds like it could be coming from various digital and analog sources. Second track, “Cheale (long)” is definitely the harshest and most “noise” of the bunch with it’s hiss & squelch, hard crunch and fucked up retard-rhythm. Track three, “Holder” brings things down again with some ambient bubbling noises & soft synth and “Opening in the Ground” finishes everything off with a huge gitchy beat and massive divebomb tones. The music on this CD is so clean and perfect sounding I’m beginning to think that a lot of it may be constructed using a computer. This would be a good CD for someone who is trying to get into experimental electronic music but doesn’t want to be overwhelmed by the full on fuck-you-up noise of most noise artists. Contact CIRCLE SIX to see there are still copies available. circlesixmusic.com

-FRED