Cut Hands – Afro Noise1 8.1

                Cut Hands is the solo project of William Bennett, founder of Whitehouse. If you know of Whitehouse and their sick, depraved general interest in sheer awfulness, you’re in for a surprise. This is a surprisingly tasteful affair. Most of it sounds crystal clear, fantastic, and with little of the hallmarks of the Whitehouse outfit.

                Little of the hallmarks mean there have been some hints over the last couple of Whitehouse albums. Williams’s interest in Ghanaian and Congolese percussion were present in the last three releases, “Bird Seed”, “Asceticists 2006” and “Racket”. In fact, three of the loudest songs on this album are from those releases, “Munkisi Munkondi”, “Nzambi la Lufua” and the closer “Bia Mintatu” respectively. Personally, I was glad to see “Nzambi la Lufua” on here as it is a favorite of mine. 

                The newer songs are considerably sparser than you’d expect from Mr. Bennett. Gone are over-distorted vocals. Atmosphere and percussion play a far larger role. Instead of non-stop aggression the music is infused with a large amount of threat. On some of these tracks the percussion is simply fantastic such as “Stabbers Conspiracy” which just leaves your mind baffled. “Rain Washes over the Chaff” shows the few years William spent working on this were not for naught. It feels unlimited by restraints like time or space. 

                After working in the field of power electronics for so long this is the biggest surprise he could done. Everything is tactile. You can feel the actual humanity in the recording. Considering for how long William did screaming (not a bad thing by the way) it is doubly refreshing to hear him do something so refreshingly different. Don’t worry it is still bleak but in a new wonderful way.

Force Publique Congo - Copper, rubber and witchcraft in Zandeland 7.0

                Ian Dominick Fernow is a busy man. Besides working at his record label Hospital Productions (located in Manhattan) he churns out an amazing number of releases. Prurient is his best-known moniker but he has multitudes, fitting in with the noise community’s insistence on vast quantity.

                Force Publique Congo is a murky affair. Perhaps that is due to the cassette origin of these two tracks. They do work together. At only around ten minutes, they form a certain relationship, with each piece contributing and reacting to the other. 

                Side A focuses on the atmospherics. Ian talks about the history of the Congo. This side is full of unrequited threat. Little sounds wail in and out of the mix. While side A threatens, side B delivers on that threat. Once side B begins you’re subjected to a harsher wall of noise, perhaps in keeping with the sounds on early Whitehouse recordings. Unlike the first side, you can’t make out anything Ian is saying, if he’s saying anything anyway. 

                While this is so short it is a satisfying listen. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Perhaps it has to do with the short nature. I like hearing Ian’s terse delivery on the A side, so that may contribute to it. Really though, this is simply a well done two tracker. Basically if you’re interested in Ian’s more atmospheric work (and he has been showing a lot of inclinations with Kevin Drumm’s recent release) this is as good a place as any to start.

Aids Wolf – The Lovvers 4.7

                Montreal is the Williamsburg of Canada I think. So many cool, weird bands come from there. Countless variations of post rock hail from Montreal. It also has a fair amount of even more experimental skronk bands. Aids Wolf obviously belongs to that latter category. 

                Despite this possessing many of the things I hold dear (loud abrupt movements, opening for Whitehouse) it just doesn’t connect with me. Each time I come back to this album thinking “maybe this time it will be different” but it isn’t different. Songs sound the same, the yelps are the same, and the whole things feels like I’m listening to a cover band of “Teenage Jesus and the Jerks” or “Harry Pussy”. A cover band who are still working on the songs. 

                Having angst isn’t enough to exactly propel you into a new realm. They aren’t experimental enough to be interesting, nor are they as catchy as say “Arab on Radar”. So they uncomfortably exist in this in between area. “Chinese Roulette” is probably the best song on here, followed by “Panty Mind”. The rest of the songs are considerably less memorable.

                I don’t think I’ve ever given a band so many chances. This isn’t the worst or most boring thing I’ve ever heard, but considering their near-obsession with self-promotion (see the hairy naked photos of them) you’d expect something with a bit more bite.