Outdoor Horse Shrine / Heat Signature C30 (self-released, July)
There are a modest handful of reasons why I’m proud to be from southwest Ohio, and one of the biggest is its noise history. These two projects both originated in the Cincinnati/Dayton area and represent some of the best that contemporary US harsh noise has to offer. Heat Signature need no introduction; their half of this summer tour cassette captures the gestural, white-hot speed of their live sets, a chain-fed onslaught of (un)controlled combustion. The real surprise here is Outdoor Horse Shrine, whose churning transmission surges forth with minimal effects but maximal intensity (a high standard continued on the spectacular Water Course). Listen here
Wolf Creek / Casa di Caccia C38 (Second Sleep, May 9)
At this point I will buy absolutely anything that contains new Wolf Creek material. The Tokyo duo consists of two young musicians who synthesize what we all love most about four glorious decades of eardrum-splitting Japanoise. “Glock Burst Cock” is easily my favorite thing they’ve recorded, and its screeching feedback abuse and vocal mangling sounds like magic on this well-produced tape. It’s one of two Second Sleep splits this year that feature Casa di Caccia (label honcho Matteo Castro’s project with Gianluca Herbertson), and their contribution is a worthy comedown from the violence of the A side, almost pensive in its improvisational agility.
Brain Tourniquet / Deliriant Nerve 7″ (Iron Lung, Jun 28)
Two titans of the D.C. hardcore scene (both anchored by the breakneck drumming of Aidan Angelo) face off on this skull-denting 7″, which sees each band even further embracing their no-frills, classic sound. This is definitely the best Brain Tourniquet has ever sounded; they kick both the speed and heaviness into higher gear, ripping through ten miniatures of brutal knuckle-dragging powerviolence. It’s tough to follow, but Deliriant Nerve brings their A-game as well, delivering their tightest and most satisfying songs yet. Sometimes it’s better to smash the wheel than to reinvent it.
Dressing / Standard Grey C50 (Buried in slag and debris., Dec 20)
A lot of the material on Buried in slag and debris. lives up to the label’s name in some way, but perhaps none so much as this transcontinental split from kindred reel-wranglers Dressing (Dublin) and Standard Grey (Nara). Both artists’ sides deal in sublime detritus of all kinds and could easily be standalone releases in their own right. Dressing balances swirling shard-storms of tape noise with haunted, uneasy harmony, while Grey glides through a focused suite of carefully reworked field recordings. The mud piled up to the doorjamb, the loam under your fingernails that you can’t bring yourself to wash out.
RHYTHMICSHIT / CIRCUITERROR – B.O.N.K. (Karma Detonation, Oct 14)
A C10 is always refreshing, especially a split, which gives each artist an imperative to compress their best ideas and execution into five minutes (or fewer). RHYTHMICSHIT, the Shanghai duo of Junky (Torturing Nurse) and Huang Lei, does this by default; the live set they contribute is just over four minutes and I honestly can’t imagine it being any longer. Another newer project, CIRCUITERROR, ditches the drums but not the aggression with a clusterfuck of crunchy cracked electronics. I love a good contrast between sides, and that plus the brevity makes this one compulsively replayable.
Gemengung / Barrera C60 (Marbre Negre, Sep 15)
Gemengung has always flirted with static structures since the project began, with releases like Forced Collapse and Root Bound favoring thick, layered distortion and subtle development over fast-paced dynamics. But “Devoured by the Understory” is arguably his first straight-up wall track, and it’s glorious. Listen through speakers if you can. Meanwhile, Barrera delivers a characteristically subversive half-hour of no-input stutter. It’s overshadowed a bit by the monster of an A side, but it holds its own well enough. My favorite of the three lovely Gemengung splits we were treated to this year.
Red Boiling Springs / Snail Male C22 (Crooked Branch, Mar 22)
Crooked Branch Collections never disappoints, and their modest two releases this year are no exception. This cassette marks Snail Male’s second split appearance on the label and the first recordings by Red Boiling Springs, a project that was on my radar before I even started publishing reviews, in almost four years. The two artists bring very different but strangely complementary ideas to the table. RBS offers up some interesting “noise by other means,” none of the individual elements overtly abrasive but kicking up quite a racket in combined form. Snail Male’s tracks aim to capture the vulnerable horror of alien abductions, hallucinatory bump and thump that reminds me of Free Magic Show.
Diskord / Atvm – Bipolarities (Transcending Obscurity, Jul 12)
This was a last-minute addition recommended by a friend, and as a chronic DM skeptic I honestly expected to hate it… but something about the general absurdity of Bipolarities just works for me. Diskord is a band that’s been doing this art-damaged tech death sound for more than two decades, and that longevity comes through in how fluid their tracks sound. I enjoy how it almost sounds closer to improvisation than careful composition. Atvm have only been around for a few years, but they’re already evolving; they really embrace the silliness here, from the deranged cowbell groove that kicks off “Cancer” to the dance-circle jam midway through “Morphine.” It’s depressing to be confronted with the state of extreme metal consumerism—in case you were wondering, you can purchase gym shorts, a tote bag, or a coffee mug branded with the album artwork—but at least I have this ridiculous music to distract me.
Noise Not Music 