Elegant Domesticity is just one of a slew of recordings recently unleashed on the public by Mark Ward, Dublin based head of Bored Bear Recordings. I've not had a chance to hear any of his other output, but on the strength of this CD-r I'm defiantly going to be tracking more down.
The first thing that struck me about Elegant Domesticity was how calm it was, this isn't the average all out assault delivery seen in the noise "scene". Rather Ward favours a slower form of guerrilla warfare. The first track slowly pulses and throbs, an innate creepiness laced throughout. An almost Power Electronics (Whitehouse : Total Sex(ish) era) without cheesy vocals. A sustained creep through bushes to the prey. On headphones in the dark this track will have you checking over your shoulder and I wouldn't plan on sleep afterwords.
The second track opens with slightly more movement, higher pitches echoing within a swirling vortex. Sounding like a dimensional tear between Songs of Praise and an angry machine. This track is much closer to the Wall Noise genre, a strong unflinching top layer of noise and more subtle changes and areas of interest lurking within the mire. About half way into the track it begins to decay and shudder under the sheer wait of feedback, the noise is reshaped without any drop out or pause before descending into a violent harsh outburst towards the end.
The key word to sum up the experience of Where is This would be subtlety, Ward has conjured up two powerhouse tracks borrowing heavily for the culture and style of noise music en yet gnawing out his own niche. The tracks are deeply affecting without being notably so. This is music that you'll find yourself thinking about a few hours down the line.
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