CAUCHY RIEMANN / THE SLEEP SESSIONS - Split c20 (Abelian Groups Records)
Dawid Kowalski a.k.a. THE SLEEP SESSIONS gets things under way on the A side with "Excess", a 9 minute excursion into lo-fi swooshing fuzz. Filter swept static is the order of the day and while I feel the track meanders a bit, it's still an improvement from the 3" he released on INDUSTRIAL CULTURE a few months back. It's pretty good. I especially like the dominating low-mid drones that appear towards the end of the piece. On the B side CAUCHY RIEMANN's Allen Cox chimes in with about 10 minutes of sci-fi synth sputter, done Ohio style. I like his track, "Black Boots" more than THE SLEEP SESSIONS' track on the A side. It explores a bit more and does a better job of holding my attention. However, there are some weak spots in the middle of the piece that I feel should have been edited out. The modulation starts to get out of control. It sounds like he tried to play a synth while riding a roller coaster. Does that make sense? Overall this split is pretty good. Not the best thing AG recs has put out but still a nice way to spend 20 minutes. Limited to 50 copies. http://abeliangroupsrecords.blogspot.com
CAUCHY RIEMANN & PEASANT GRAVES - "Without Hope Or Cause" Collaboration c20 (Abelian Groups Records)
Here is a live collab between two Ohioans, CAUCHY RIEMANN and PEASANT GRAVES. The first side of this tape has some massive low end droning going on, I'm guessing from a bass guitar courtesy of PEASANT GRAVES. I'm really digging the ominous low end and whining background feedback. It sort reminds me of Sunn O))) if they recorded straight to boom box and had no metal influence whatsoever. The second side focuses less on the bass but there's still a ton of creepiness spilling over from side 1 in the form of slow motion wasp-like drones and an excellent use of silence. I absolutely love the clanking sound that happens throughout the piece. It reminds me of a sign blowing in the wind in a deserted western town. This is without a doubt one of the better releases I've heard from CAUCHY RIEMANN (and his ABELIAN GROUPS RECORDS) and a fine introduction to PEASANT GRAVES (who I really want to hear more of). Limited to 50 copies. http://abeliangroupsrecords.blogspot.com
CAUCHY RIEMANN - "Field Theorist" c12 (Abelian Groups Records)
I've heard quite a bit from CAUCHY RIEMANN, whether it be splits or collabs with other artists but I'm pretty sure this is my first time hearing a solo release from him and I must say, I'm surprised. This release consists of two 6 minutes chunks of dense as fuck harsh electronics on a transparent yellow tape. The A side still has the weird airy synthery found in most of his other releases but here it's broken up with walls of low-mid domination and schizophrenic stop on a dime transitions from treble shriek to bass pummelling. I like the lo-fi production of this piece but I'd like to see what Allen Cox could accomplish with a cleaner sound. The B side has a massive pounding beat that makes me want to bang my head like the redneck metal heads that live down the street. Just before I give into temptation, the beat is overwhelmed by what sounds like a slow motion hydrogen bomb explosion ran through a plethora of distortion pedals. I'm fucking loving it. This side of the tape definitely benefits from the lo-fi production. Cleaning it up would just take away from it's raw power. The music on this cassette is miles better than most of the stuff out there. I recommend fans of creative conceptual noise check it out. I also recommend that Allen Cox put out more solo releases. Criminally limited to 28 copies so act fast! http://abeliangroupsrecords.blogspot.com
-FRED
