Noisear Subvert the Dominant Paradigm
Relapse
When Maury Povich reads off the paternity test results, it should come as no surprise to anyone that Lethargy had been sexing up Noisear’s mom before skipping town with the circus to spread the message of calliope-core to the rest of the world. Oh sure, stepdad Discordance Axis did a fine job raising the kid in deadbeat dad's absence, and his influence is pervasive throughout Relapse debut Subvert the Dominant Paradigm (the riffing on “Waiting to Be Born” is pure Rob Marton worship), but that legacy from Lethargy could not
be suppressed forever. That squeaky, squeally, skronky energy is an undeniable recessive gene.So given the band’s influences are blindingly obvious, the dominant paradigms are going to walk away a bit less subverted than advertised. However, after standing out as the darlings of This Comp Kills Fascists Vol. 2, Noisear have bent their influences into something identifiably their own. Sleek Discordance Axis icepicks like “Global Warning” swap in and out with angular freakouts like “Fraudulent,” which sways and bounces like a snake charming tune penned by Lethargy.
The only thing that could derail Noisear’s bid to permanently join the grindcore aristocracy is one of the worst cases of the Curse of the Final Song in recent memory. Closing out the album, “Noisearuption,” which gobbles up half the album’s 40 minute run time with an excruciatingly awful , pointless, grating wipeout of electronic superfluity. When you’re on the cusp of a defining musical statement, do not squander half your audience’s allotted attention with something deliberately designed to piss them the fuck off. Stop one song short and enjoy.
17 comments:
minus the noise track, this is the album of the year for me so far :)
I personally am one who of recent actually doesnt mind a douse of noise here and there, although I can understand it was somewhat out of place in this release.
The production was a little slick for me.
I got over it, but my first thought was, "Why is this so much less noisy?!?"
This is still some fucking sweet skronky grind, I just wish it was a little grittier.
Also, I picked up huge Human Remains vibes off of some songs! HOO RAY!
Also: I listened to that noise track on my first spin through the album, just to give it an honest shot.
Uh, yeah: What survives on my mp3 player is album minus static-track.
i was loving this album until i got the new maruta. which is odd, seeing that noisear is much close to the crust/thrash grind i prefer than maruta.
I'm still really impressed with this rec. Especially Fajardo's performance. the drum sound is fan-tin-can-tastic. i agree Bill, gave it a full listen first time round but cant be arsed now after the 'explosion'.
!!!!
yeah there's something fucked up in the blogger system. hopefully they get it sorted out soon.
I think I'm the only one who liked that track. There's a pretty big split with people who like the balance of that kind of track with the rest of the album, and other people who think its just a way to reach LP length.
I think maybe the better solution is just to throw it on to another disc like pig destroyer did for terrifyer. Although the kind of lost it on phantom limb, 15 minutes of crickets disappointed me.
I kind of like the aesthetic of the shock of a song at the end in contrast to the rest of the album, but its also really easy to skip. Personally, I prefer the approach of working up to that type of song. On Jigoku, that was my basic idea... I don't know. Sometimes I really don't like that kind of track. For example, as much as I love the endless blockade, I really wasn't into the Rita remix on the bastard noise split. Maybe I'm missing something there. I probably am. Anyway, great review.
i don't think it worked in the way you're suggesting either. i thought it was just long, monotonous and tacked on. if i felt like it had a reason to be there, even if i didn't like it, it wouldn't have annoyed me as much. jigoku was a continuous evolution from grind to noise, this was just irritating noise out of nowhere.
two words re the last track - medication time.
I think one of the main reasons for my different impression of it was that was basically something mentioned in a lot of reviews, so I jumped to it first. I do agree though, when I listened to that track, its not like it has a narrative progression or something to follow. Although, as I listen to it again, I'm not really sure what interests me about it. I don't know, if I was going to do a 20 minute noise song, I'd probably throw in a few more peak and valleys or something unexpected.
I wonder if the band thought they basically had an album in the other 30 tracks, and just left this on there are something to remind you the album is over without falling into silence. Kind of like that psyopus album where they loop the word annoying for 20 minutes (that one definitely pissed me off, not sure if it was in a good way or not). Also, I'm think they just asked Jay Randall to do it, so it definitely is divorced from the rest of the recording. Anyway, the long last song is a tempting cliche for people who like doing noise or ambient tracks in their spare time. I've resolved to be wary of those, unless it really adds something. Noise tracks can so easily go wrong.
i really wish more bands would put some thought into the noise stuff. if it's not meant to be a throw away, try to find some way to really incorporate it into the album. maybe try not putting it at the end. just to change it up. see how that changes the perspective.
Yeah, same thing with synthesizer horror movie music intros that go on for more than two minutes.
possessed get a pass for seven churches but everyone else should have their scrotum stapled to the floor for that move.
Next robocop intro: members of deathcore bands in the process of having their scrotums stapled.
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