Old Bombs/Wolf Eyes – Split
This is my first exposure to both of these projects, but Wolf Eyes has gotten a ton of word of mouth, so I was excited to see this turn up. Each project has just one track, but both are quite long. Old Bombs begins the disc with a somewhat quirky piece of static threads, off kilter loops, squelching electronics, odd little organ snippets, brief rhythmic elements etc. The feel is almost one of falling into a hole where the entire world is different… something that would need to be animated to be truly accurate… a surrealist zoo. I don’t know. It’s an evocative track that utilizes some unique sounds and really transforms itself nicely into new developments while remaining fairly consistent in feel. Wolf Eyes track seems to suggest it was recorded live on the radio from the title, “WCBN 2/8/01” but doesn’t specifically say that. It begins as an ambient feeling track that builds to various chaotic crescendos and at times even becomes semi-structured. They utilize a lot of different elements… sporadic percussive bits, feedback, dissonant saxophone, chirping and buzzing electronics, reverberating drone, some cut up technique and loops, guitar experiments, vocals and so on. It is disjointed, seemingly improvised and random, but rooted in a uniform foundation. The two projects here are quite different, but work pretty well together, and I liked what they both were doing. It is perhaps for more adventurous ears but will no doubt please those ears. – Scott
PUBLIC EYESORE
Worm Gear 