Most successful splits are pairings of projects with distinct but complementary sounds. It’s rare that one with similar sides makes an impact; usually one outweighs the other, and I end up feeling like I’d rather have a full release from that contributor. This C13 with material from new monikers of Portland scene mainstays Caspar Sonnet (Arcade) and Shane McDonell (Carousel) is an exception. It’s not that their styles are run together, rather that they each contribute a specific spin on an approach not many others are taking right now, i.e., fast-paced tape collage noise. It makes sense that this stuff is coming out of the City of Roses—both artists have collaborated with stalwart neighbor Cody Brant, and plenty other loop wranglers (Bob Desaulniers, Eren Guney, Derrick Spotts) call or have called the town home—but theirs is more abrasive than any of those. The sides match in intensity, but the distinguishing factor that jumps out right away is how each uses the stereo field. Sonnet’s “Pollywog Racket” is all channel separation, a dizzying carnival whirl of wriggling yanks, sputters, and fast-forwards. The movement is so fluid and muscular that it creates a powerful presence over speakers despite never actually getting too harsh. He wields a wide range of sound sources with equal aplomb, from clattering metal to chipmunk speech. McDonell is working with a lot of the same textures at the outset of “Interdental Insects,” but he soon establishes a more linear left/right balance of distorted burbles and lays sharp screeches down the middle. A strong momentum carries the track throughout, even as things start to break apart. This is a tightly focused twofer that, especially coming off the recent Carousel tour and a handful of celebrated releases from both projects, feels like a concise and exciting manifesto. It’s the only release in the recent Andromache batch that isn’t sold out, but that won’t be the case for long.
