Category: Reviews

DECAYCAST Reviews : Greasy Bitches – Demo (SELF RELEASED, 2024)

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Some bands and artist make you wonder what is even the point in trying to pigeonhole an artist. Sometimes, it is best to just travel through te discorgaphy of an artist and enjoy the ride. In fact if there is anything you can say about an artist with a diverse discography, it’s that you will never ever get bored. That’s most defintely the case when it comes to Bacon Grease (an experimental project by Floridian videographer/producer Andrea Knight).

What started as a noise solo noise punk venture blooming from the ashes of Shania Pain, Bacon Grease transferred into the world of electronica. Though, just because she has taken on electronica doesn’t mean that she has abandoned the chaotic nature that the Bacon Grease name is known for. Some albums are low-energy goth records (a la February 2018), some are no wave exorcisms of an anxious mind (The Slow Burn, released by local label Popnihil), and others can be exercises in proggy electro (her most recent album, Concept). The drums slap, the electronica are from another world, and it is all recorded live. (Bacon Grease’s Bandcamp discography is made up of live performances performed and compiled on certain days, in case you wonder why the recording volume is often in the red.)

Greasy Bitches–a collaboration between Knight and Talo McGee of noise punk/”whorecore” band Superbitch, a band that also released an album named P.ee Tape this year–extends Bacon Grease’s no wave leanings by sounding more like what would happen if AIDS Wolf had an electronic side project. While Knight brought the intergalactic beats, McGee brought the chaos on two different occasions. One is a performance at Jacksonville’s Popnihil Pizza Cave performance and another is at Orlando’s Stardust. All of the demos equalling around 20 minutes in all. A good way to describe the album is what happens if you are plopped in the middle of the most chaotic nightmare that you are way too numb to wake up from. Where the Bacon Grease project found Knight taking the mic with introverted vocals spelling out thoughts ranging from ambitions as an artist to purging of negative feelings, McGee is more projected, more highpitched, more projected of the pain and anxiety that this project presents.

The similarities between the two projects lie in both of them being improvisational. BG’s production is often very on the fly, due to an aversion to practicing sets. Greasy Bitches’ first demo together is approached in a similar fashion. The beats pound in ways that make you dance, McGee purges inner turmoil in ways that will make the most stressed person on earth want to purge with her. If you are looking for more opportunities to see what they do, four more performances are ound on the official Greasy Bitches bandcamp site (https://greasybitches.bandcamp.com/).

– mynameisblueskye

DECAYCAST Reviews: Gil Sansón “Dunning-Kruger Effect” (Full Spectrum, 2024)

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DECAYCAST Reviews: Gil Sansón – Dunning-Kruger Effect

Gil Sansón’s latest release, Dunning-Kruger Effect, is a adventerous and intellectually provocative venture into the realms of contemporary minimal guitar/voice music. With this album, Sansón not only showcases their impressive versatility of collating minimal sounds together, but the record keeps us listening and engaged for the next sonic event no matter now tiny or hidden.

From the moment the first track, “Illusions of Grandeur,” kicks in, it’s clear that Sansón is not afraid to challenge conventional musical boundaries. The album’s production is marked by a bold and experimental approach, blending elements of electronic, indie rock, and classical influences with a “small but powerful” approach to birthing sounds. The result is a sonic landscape that feels both fresh and familiar, a testament to Sansón’s innovative experimental spirit.

The title track, “Dunning-Kruger Effect,” is a standout piece that encapsulates the album’s thematic core. It’s a complex composition, weaving intricate melodies with dissonant harmonies, plucks ad scrapes to lead the listener astray, but in the best way, reflecting the dissonance between self-perception and reality. T

Another highlight is “Echo Chamber,” where Sansón experiments with layered textures and rhythmic shifts that create a sense of disorientation and introspection. The song’s arrangement mirrors the concept of an echo chamber, with repetitive motifs that build in complexity, symbolizing the entrapment within one’s own echoing thoughts and beliefs.

The album’s production is notable for its meticulous attention to detail. Sansón has crafted a sound that’s rich and immersive, which small and investagative, utilizing a variety of instrumental techniques and effects to create a multidimensional listening experience. The blending of traditional and modern elements results in a sound that is both innovative and accessible, appealing to a broad spectrum of listeners.

With its blend of intricate compositions, thematic depth, and innovative production, it offers a rewarding experience for those willing to engage with its complexity. Sansón’s ability to intertwine profound psychological themes with his music marks him as an artist of considerable talent and vision, and this album stands as a testament to his creative prowess.

-Dr. Decaycast

DECAYCAST Reviews: Sour Spirit – Mince Suite III (2024)

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Sour Spirit – Mince Suite III 

Sour Spirit, a band between frontman Rodnie King and drummer Riot Dent, is the sound of walking into a scream room, preparing to scream and only ever screaming inside their head. It’s a cathartic noise punk project in which the focus is on the hell of black trauma and anger. You can say that the appeal of Sour Spirit is that their brand of noise and experimental isn’t too far from free jazz, where melody, rhythm and all aren’t as important as the emotional catharsis, however explosive it may be. 

You can certainly say that MSIII has cleaner vocals and a lyric sheet this time. Still raucus as ever, “Ground Teeth” showcases structure in the songwriting mirroring a math element to hardcore punk. But don’t let the classiness fool you. Mince Suite III moves towards a sludgy, dirty end of punk. The common theme of the album is suffering, whether it be suffering apathy towards an inevitable death as a black person in America or even praising the “end” of a prejudiced person’s “suffering”. The album even tackles the effort to end suffering of other people and build something beautiful in the wake (the closer “Big House”). 

Their Mince Suite series further prove this with blown out aggressive grindcore that is only ever made to be a blip of aggression. Those keeping up with the series noticed that the music just happens to be longer with every entry. The first Mince Suite entry is a literal minute long with each track hardly crossing over fifteen seconds. Mince Suite II doesn’t let up on the mayhem, but extends it past that miniature 15-second blast sometimes into making sure no song is longer than 32 seconds. Only two songs are that long.) So, after hearing the series, Mince Suite III should follow the pattern of being more “filled out”, right?

Mince Suite III still covers the frustration of living in a dying universe that wants them to die faster but this time makes clear the act of changing course, even if it has to be through aggressive means. There are only so many words to say, and Mince Suite III said only what was necessary.

-mynameisblueskye

DECAYCAST Reviews: bran(…)pos – INTERROSPECTIVE Pt 1 & 2 (Not on label, 2024)

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If you hear the first track, “Shitty Karma of Swatting Flies” and progressively feel like you are moving towards the edge of a madness you aren’t very familiar with, you have officially stumbled upon the point. INTERROSPECTIVE is a media project created by San Francisco’s own bran(…)pos that isn’t afraid to overwhelm, if it conveys a certain picture or feeling. The opening track goes from maddeningly chaotic to occasionally, for a lack of a better-fitting term, dreamy, but only if by dreamy, you are thinking of something more…surreal. With high-pitched buzzing noises also contain sounds of clanking metal and clanking plastic. And that is just around the 8-minute mark.

The description still feels tamer compared to the 27-minute experience, but all there is to say is that the descent into the hell that the track creates doesn’t end there. It only gets more fascinating as you go.

“Wartime Care and Maintenance for D.Muscipula” (D standing for “Dionaea”, as in Venus Fly Trap”) is a much slower crawl to the madness, as over grinding cellos, the song sounds like what were to happen is the blues were exoskeletal, and as a result of such a thing, in the four minutes mark, warped and melted cello and vocals liquid in each and every direction possible for the remaining duration. Occasional slimey vocals dance with blipping synths during the 11:30 mark.

In his description, INTERROSPECTIVE is a “series of sonic performance pieces meant as meditations on festering emotional states we humans are blessed and cursed with”. Whether it be a feeling meant to be coax out of its listener or if—as this was improvisational— this was more meant to be a largely therapeutic exercise, either way, the moment you press play, it will be the hardest thing to simply look away or turn it off. Therein lies the power. Just like your own inner thoughts and emotions, no matter how horrid, you’ll always be tempted to let your curiosity get the better of you.

Let it. – mynameiblueskye

PS, while you’re here don’t forget to read our interview with Bran (…) Pos here

DECAYCAST Reviews: Russell Woods – “Michigander” EP

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By nature, electronic music is focused upon the sound of tomorrow. Genres on genres, styles upon styles, very rarely do people feel the need to want to move backwards, when they can find ways to build on past innovation. Unfortunately, doing this has resulted in music sometimes coming off a bit… serious? Introverted maybe?

What made artists like Aphex Twin so appealing is his ability to take both innovative tracks and find time to also fuck around and troll willing listeners with his music as well. Russell Woods may not be the most innovative person taking on Detroit techno today, but Michigander shows he isn’t above adding a bit of conversation to his beats.

Beginning with “Prelude”, Woods honors producing duo Drexciya with a funky banger that fizzes and percolates. Afterwards, Woods break out the skittering brain dance bomb “A Terrible Hip Hop Album”, a track that reveals itself as a punchline/goof on musical pretense. The premise of “Don’t even Stunt” tackles a more serious yet no less chuckle-worthy topic concerning payday launders, but the conversations sampled thankfully don’t take away from the music and its abilities.

Michigander only has four songs, but it is just enough to show you exactly what Russell Woods can add to the listening experience. What he may have left to say on his next album? We will have to see.

– mynameisblueskye

DECAYCAST Reviews: DECAYCAST Stalwart writer mynameisblueskye Weighs In On Ka’a Davis and Bushmeat Sound System – Dollar Bill Set the World On Fire

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On Ka’a Davis and Bushmeat Sound System – Dollar Bill Set the World On Fire

Each album that Thomas Bushmeat Stanley (aka Bushmeat Sound System) releases is like a more afrofuturistic take on the “jazz body” theory. Whether it be tackling trance music or letting a bit of noise blast through the speakers, the interpretation concerning whether or not to imagine a much more structured or less cacophonous world or let the mangledness be a soundtrack to said heightened cacophony here in America is up to you. Dollar Bill Set the World on Fire is Bushmeat on synths while On Kaa’a Davis assists with improvised electric guitar. Together, they create an almost electronic/psychedelic take on spiritual jazz. As easy as it is to take it as an audio peek into a world that threatens to get even more dystopic, more maddening with time. The mention in the bio of Sun Ra’s “Alter Destiny” also suggests the music to be a sound of a whole newly constructed universe.

To further assist with this album is Thomas Stanley’s interview of Sun Ra named “Alter Destiny– A Survivor’s Guide”, where the two terms are further broken down by Sun Ra. “You have to use an equation and use the vice future, the alter future. You know, in the church they use the altar, a-l-t-a-r. You got to use a-l-t-e-r, alter; that means change. In other words, you substitute a future for the one you got. The one you’ve got ain’t no good,” says Sun Ra. So, the aim may also be to imagine a whole new, much safer world, but to get there you have to travel out of the more frustrating one.

https://eatbushmeat.bandcamp.com/album/dollar-bill-set-the-world-on-fire

“A Side of Heaven that Can’t Be Seen From the Ground” unfolds like a flower with a smell as shar pas it is strong. Sounds swirl, beep, skronk like a person who uses rock n’ roll as a refuge to combat the discomfort off a dirty atmosphere. “Black Swans Coming Home to Roost” is where the dust settles and the clanging noise of static may as well be the sound of a clock ticking faster than its normal speed. The sound of the future as we have always imagined it glitching before our eyes and malfunctioning in front of you. The cacophony continues, and even comes to a head, with the more explosive and epic title track. The second epic “A World Without Any White People” knocks and whirrs like an electro track from the 80s spinning out of control with only the sound of faint radio playing synths to guide the journey. The moment you finally landed, you have distorted bells, blinking synth brass to greet those on board.

A bouillabaisse of distorted noise, ambient, free jazz and rock, Dollar Bill Set the World on Fire can be taken as a soundtrack to the revolution, if you want it to be or it can be an album that sounds like what today’s madness sounds like. Either way, with a sense of imagination and focus, Dollar Bill sounds like a slightly distorted vision of a tomorrow you may or may not ever see. –mynameisblueskye

DECAYCAST Reviews: Departments Of Works, Volume 1 (Submarine Broadcasting Co, 2023)

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In the vast and ever-evolving landscape of experimental music, there are artists who push the boundaries of sonic exploration, challenging our preconceived notions of music itself. “Signs And Signals” ,” the latest offering from the enigmatic artist known simply as Department Of Works , is a remarkable testament to the boundless possibilities of musical experimentation. Blending elements of psychedelia, intricate beats, ethereal synthesizers, and distant vocals, this album takes listeners on a mesmerizing journey through uncharted sonic territories.

The album starts with distant, almost ghostly vocals that seem to float in the air, setting an otherworldly tone. As the song progresses, layers of synthesizers and subtle beats gradually envelop the listener, creating a sense of anticipation and intrigue. It’s a captivating start that draws you in, inviting you to embark on this sonic voyage.

https://submarinebroadcastingco.bandcamp.com/album/signs-signals

“Signs and Signals” immerses the listener in a surreal, kaleidoscopic realm of sound. The psychedelic influences are immediately apparent in the swirling, hypnotic melodies and the use of unconventional instruments. The beats here are intricate and unpredictable, creating a sense of constant flux. The distant vocals, though unintelligible, add an ethereal quality that enhances the dreamlike atmosphere. , crafting lush, nostalgic melodies that evoke a sense of melancholic beauty. The distant vocals are used sparingly, enhancing the introspective mood. This album as a whole showcases versatility of a mood and sonic palette, demonstrating an ability to create both frenetic but distant energy and serene moments of introspection within the same album.s ability to craft otherworldly soundscapes while maintaining a sense of emotional resonance is a testament to their artistic prowess. “Signs and Signals” invites you to surrender to its hypnotic spell and embark on a psychedelic journey that will linger in your mind long after the final notes have faded into the ether.

Short blurb from the label:

The Department of Works album ‘Signs & Signals’ is an extension of previous Glove of Bones & Cousin Silas collaborations that also includes musical parts and contributions from Hans Castrup (whose interventions are profound and skilled), izzyhereyet and his colleagues Ursula, Emma & Elliot from RWCMD. Finally, the masked and anonymous ‘Fawkes’, who prompted the creation of the GoB ‘Fawkes Mask’ album. More about that below.

Order now from Submarine Broadcasting Company

DECAYCAST Reviews: SHARKIFACE “Climax In A Process” (No Part Of It, 2023)

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DECAYCAST Reviews: SHARKIFACE “Climax In A Process” (No Part Of It, 2023)

Bay area “static witch” Sharkiface aka Angela Edwards shocks the underworld with her stunning new full length album “Climax In A Process” on the once Chicago- based No Part Of It imprint. Through many collaborative projects such as Pigs In The Ground, Tarantism, Crack W.A.R., DemonFace, Secretarial Pool amongst many others. Much like her live performances, “Climan In A Process” is dark, haunting, ethereal and throbbing saences. These works hold sharp, nuanced pillars of tension, like tightroping along razor blades into the foggy night, just outside the casting eye of a killer. Sharkiface employs an unknown array of unique, handmade, customized loopers, synths and samplers which sew webs of haunting vocals, human voice modulations and distortions, slow throbbing synthesizers, and distant strings and percussion.

Hell bells, back masking, throbbing pulses of invisible shards of glass slice your feet and ears as you glide backwards into a terrifying and unknown world. Shrieks of ritualized chaos peak and flow throughout a barren, cold psychological architecture. Pulling from Pauline Oleveros, Meredith Monk, Diamanda Galas, Throbbing Gristle, Italian Horror, Russolo and Mario Bava excavations, On “Climax In A Process” Edwards has crafted and refined a sonic world all her own in all it’s bloodsoaked, chaotic, tense walls of whispers, an absolutely terrifying sonic form and space. Absolutely essential listening.

DECAYCAST Reviews: THX1312. – Auditions for Patron Saint ov Cop Su/cide (Deathbomb Arc, 2022)

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So, before I go ahead and take jle this album,I need you to take some time, occupy a nice, quiet room, sit in a nice, comfortable chair with some warm tea or a bottle of water, put on some of your best headphones, turn your headset down just a teensy bit,fire it up, and…

WHO LIKES GABBER MUSIC?!?!

Straight from Deathbomb Arc, whose label has not only tackled GABBER as a genre before (search “gabbertree”), but also willfully tackled bands who have courted controversy from JPEGMAFIA to a band named Child Pornography (don’t ask), is a producer/member of anarchist collective THX1312. Their kind of music not only delivers some of the most humorous use of samples and the most overwhelming curbstomping bass drums known to man (compare it to that of CX KiDTRONiK), but has a very specific and consistent concept to the music: to inspire confidence in those harmed by the police and inspire fear in the same cop city men of the hour.

If you are into more industrial works or punk rock, them first single “Fire (what’s orange and looks good on cops)” should catch your attention with its video being a complete burn of the #BlueLivesMatter flag, but the whole album is a bonkers DJ set/plunderphonics mixtape dedicated to inspiring vitriolic action towards police. Some tracks are considered remixes of songs found on a future 7″. Amongst them the funk-heavy “Destroy it Yourself” and anxious sugar high track named “Take a Bite Via Crime”. If you found more feet-shuffling albums dedicated to the fantasy of executing law enforcement, you probably listened to their last project.

-mynameisblueskye

DECAYCAST Reviews: ALGIERS “Shook” (2023)

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mynameisbluesky reviews ALGIERS “Shook” for DECAYCAST

Before we dive into the album, let’s address this pesky comparison that Algiers have been getting lately: TV On the Radio. If you have been listening to music made by black people or if you are a black person who makes music that is stubbornly uncategorizable, receiving said comparisons will be inevitable. This is a comparison that the band savagely smirked at on their track “Can the Sub-Bass Speak?” But if you will, I can be able to help explain why the egregious comparison to such a band may not be as farfetched and random as it seems.

Like TVOTR, Algiers can kick out an electrifying jam when they need to, and when it happens, you can feel the passion through your body and soul. But they are not above also singing with a tired, angry world-weariness of negro spirituals long ago. And often when they sing, it is of anything they can use to either survive or battle the inevitable decline of our nation. They also gleefully mix genres when they sing tracks of despair, love, strength and hope. The difference between Algiers and TVOTR, remains this: neither Tunde Adebimpe or Kyp Malone can spit a smooth 16 like Fisher, tho.

On “73%”, Franklin Fisher spits as if he has been waiting for a long minute to shit talk the abyss and as he does it, he makes damn sure he isn’t alone. Zack de la Rocha gets his turn to grit his teeth on “Irreversible Damage” while the notoriously anonymous billy woods and horrorcore visionary Backxwash each trade red-eyes bars with Fisher on the first single “Bite Back” wrapping up the hell felt during the space between now and the 2020 protest/coronavirus plague. Throughout Algiers’ discography, it always sounded like the band wants more than justice, but a sense of revenge. It sounded like looking for resolve and not receiving one. Shook is the first album where Fisher no longer sounds alone.

If you are one of those who enjoyed the There is No Year bonus “Void”, you will be glad to know Fisher has not lost that wild fervor, as he spits bile towards clueless Caucasian people with supposed POC friends on the cover of “A Good Man”. But amidst the sneering at the world around him, Fisher also takes time to zero into his own world and heal his heart in the process. After going through a breakup, “I Can’t Stand It!” tackles his depression after the breakup with the assistance of Future Islands’ frontman Samuel T. Herring. Where past songs tackle the desolate scene that began with an Atlanta train station announcement (“Everybody Shatter” with Southern poet Big Rube), “Momentary” is that glimpse of light ending the album with a poem/meditation on death with Lee Bains III (of Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires) at the podium.

I neglected to mention the continued genre-agnostic attitude on this record, but all that needs to be said is that the album takes genres ranging from dub to jazz to garage rock to electronica to hip hop to gospel and soul and manages to weave them all in the project without sounding any bit out of place. As a result, the album feels constructed with the ear of a musical auteur. It was created to sound less like just a disc with songs on it, and more like a soundtrack to a collection of feelings and moments at one time. It’s the sound of coming to grips with everything that has happened.

Calling Shook a record of community would feel reductive and too focused on the red herring, but if the artists didn’t also know what it is to kick against the gates of hell, and choose to help rage against it, too, there is no telling whether or not it would have worked. It’s easier to say that if you felt an energetic lull on There Is No Year, Shook will sooner put that worry to bed than it would that pesky comparison they have been receiving. – mynameisblueskye

Order “SHOOK” here:

https://algierstheband.bandcamp.com/album/shook