Euhedral/Timothy C Holehouse Split Tape

Artist Euhedral/Timothy C Holehouse

Label Self Released

Year 2010

Genre(s) Drone, Dark Ambient

Yet another split tape featuring the ever wonderful Mr. Holehouse and this time he has teamed up with Oxford based drone and dark ambient project Euhedral. Euhedral offers up one track split into two parts of creepy drone/dark ambient soundscapes, whilst Timothy C. Holehouse presents three tracks of dark improv. and shuddering melody. The information with the insert is somewhat sparse, offering artist and track names (and e-mails etc). The only other bit of info to be found is that the tape (I'm assuming both sides?) was recorded in Peckham on a bleak Sunday. I can't say for certain that this had any effect on the outcome but this split is definitely dark and brooding.

The Euhedral side side starts off with a drifting sound, echoes and slow methodical drum beats filling the plain. Self described by the artist as dark (which is an understatement) Mantis Song Parts 1 & 2 offer dense yet spacious atmospheres, drums bouncing off slick cave walls and dread filled drones rising from blackness. Damaged and shuddering walls of noise closing in from every side. The production and the drum sound almost lend a dub sound to the proceedings. As Part 1 fades into oblivion the dense silence is punctured by screams, at which I'm getting a similair vibe to In Umbra Malitiae Ambulabo, In Aeternum In Triumpho Tenebrarum by Abruptum (Except executed in a much more competent fashion). A metallic nightmare begins to stalk closer and closer to the forefront, like a mechanical beast rising from a misty chamber. Female vocals dance in the ether fitting the mood perfectly. All the components of the release joining into a sonic miasma. It's here however that I have a slight problem with the work, I was taken out of the experience somewhat by what sounds to be the use of a wah effect on the track, I was very aware of the nature of the track and it dulled the atmosphere that (until this point) had been created perfectly. Gone was the creeping sense of dread. There is a quick stop/start used to great effect, just as I was getting up to change sides the assault returned and resulted in me cowering like a little girl. I'll happily throw some Euhedral tracks on in future, however it's not exactly comfortable listening in a dark room en yet at the same time I would advise it to get the most of the experience.

Timothy C. Holehouse starts off with a calm piece of guitar, slowly repeating and dying away. Electronic flourishes ebb alongside the guitar. As the volume and intensity increases an air of menace becomes apparent. What sound like whispered vocals lurk just behind the instrumentation, haunting the listener. Soon the guitar is overpowered by a thudding pulse of a beat, steady and omnipresent. A swirl of electronics offering only slight suggestions that the guitar still exists as part of the composition. More urgent and pressing, there is a slight drop out on the tape at one point which I'm not entirely sure is intentional. Just as soon as the hazy electronics began they start to fade away, leaving the pulsating beat and gentle guitar, sounding ever more alone. The beat eventually vanishes until the guitar is all that's left, sounding sorrowful and alone due to the juxtaposition with the harsher point of the track. Track two carries with it an almost Moevot vibe, carrying the sound as if it were recorded in a cathedral, there are also flourishes of almost Kluster-esq electronics, psychedelic en yet melding perfectly with the composition. The Moevot vibe only increase as the side rumbles on, especially when the sinister, whispered vocals return.

There's much been said about the genre of Black Noise, despite being a loose term which covers the more bombastic (Emit) to the slightly calmer and more ambient (Dapnom/Black Seas of Infinity) there seems to be a lash back from the noise community at large. It's releases like this that might be able to turn the tide and show there can be a good mix of Dark/Black Ambient and Noise/Drone elements to create something greater than the sum of it's parts.

SeaBuckthorn/Timothy C Holehouse - Split Tape

Artist SeaBuckthorn/Timothy C Holehouse
Label None
Year 2010
Genre(s) Folk, Post-Rock

Here we have a split tape twixt SeaBuckthorn and Timothy C Holehouse. Mr. Holehouse is known to me and I've reviewed some of his previous work. In doing prep for this review I tried to find out some information about SeaBuckthorn, the Myspace mentioned on the insert is blank, listing only a country and age without further details, this is a real pity as I'm most enamoured by the track presented. The total release look wonderful, coming in a stamped envelope (Which is unfortunately sealed and not exactly the easiest to open without damaging) and then further enveloped in black crepe paper, held in place with an orange sticker.

The SeaBuckthorn side is one track, A Mystique Strenched Thin, which opens with calm drones and gently played guitar. Slowly shimmering with a slight sound like Sun City Girls. Light and pleasant, sounding like summer music to forget your problems to. The guitar ebbs against the droning tide, reverb lashed on top to send it on a spiral around the room. The guitar dies out into an electronic buzz which slowly fades out to end the track. The only complaint I have with the SeaBuckthorn side is that the electronic buzz on the end sounds out of place and a little tacked on.

The Timothy C Holehouse side starts in a very similar style, slowly picked guitar, ringing out solemnly in Summer Through the Window, a mournful edge pushing into the music. Like a lament for the lost summer that was presented on Side A. Building in speed and intensity before dying down once more. The next track, Winter's Icey Glare, continues the theme of the release, except this time being more outwardly cold and longing, almost like the solo guitar opening to Bleeding Hope by Life Neglected. The noise elements notable from previous Holehouse releases are gone on this tape, instead choosing to convey emotion and atmosphere through the laid bare guitar. Building onward before suddenly stopping.

This split is a great piece of music, though if you're looking for pure noise/drone music I'd pick up an earlier release. There's a nostalgia conveyed by both artists on the tape, one dealing with a fond reminisce and the other conveying the negative emotions from the same time period. None of the tracks would work without the other to serve as a counterpoint, as a split should be.

Suburban Howl - Green Death

Artist Suburban Howl
Label Side-A-Records
Year 2010
Genre(s) Folk, Noise

Suburban Howl is the project of Davide Lega and Matteo Poggi. This single sided C40 on Side-A-Records serves up three creepy crawly cuts of chilling guitar-centric noise. Delivered on dazzling lime green/black flecked tapes (Sprayed) and ideal for those scary nights when The Misfits just wont do.

Tape opener Green Death is based around a slow moving guitar part, like the slow campfire song of a long forgotten ghost. Echoed voices and croaks mulling just beyond the light, slowly the guitar builds in intensity, succumbing to a pool of white noise, the voices becoming part of the sonic miasma. The noise is great and manages to maintain a more musical quality.

Random begins with another guitar line which sounds like the collective night terrors of a thousand burnt out hippies. Perfectly saccharine in format and delivery, it hints at something horrible concealed just beyond the surface. Sounding like a more focused Silvester Anfang. Always threatening to tip over the edge into yet more noise, instead slowly fading out. The lack of a harsher element making the track all the more powerful.

Finally comes Speak Poetry to People. A far harsher affair that sounds like the chase out of the woods, Leatherface hot on your heels, his chainsaw revving and spitting petrol. A pressing sense of urgency conveyed through the wailing feedback. Murmurs still pass in the background, note able but hidden enough to muddle comprehension. Despite the fuller sound there's still an edge that will have you checking over your shoulder.

I'm having a hard time adding the genre for this release, it's certainly noise in the sense of there being a harsh element composed on "non-music", however there's the calmer (but frankly scary) folkier guitar sections. The whole tape combines to make twenty minutes of the most satisfying noise this year.

Where is This - Elegant Domesticity

Artist Where is This
Label Side-A-Records
Year 2010
Genre(s) Harsh Noise, Power Electronics

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.

Hateful Abandon - Famine (Or Into the Bellies of Worms)

Artist Hateful Abandon
Label Todestrieb
Year 2008
Genre(s) Black Metal, Post-Punk

A lot of bands are fleeing Black Metal like rats from a sinking ship. Indeed the old ideas of "kvlt" and "grim" have been hoisted. Bands like Alcest began to incorporate Shoegaze elements into their compositions (Though I think Ulver had most folk beat with the vocals on Bergtatt). There was an influx of bands mixing styles and dabbling with different combinations of genres. Amesoeurs gave a sampling of Post-Rock meets Black Metal on their debut EP, whilst Swedish band Lifelover put out an average debut that tried to meld Black Metal with Post-Punk (In the worst, cut n' paste fashion). As a long time fan of Post-Punk it was quite depressing to be presented with a thoughtless waste of composition that sounded more like a Joy Division pastiche than any serious artistic statement.


Hateful Abandon is a U.K. based band featuring Vintyr (Of Basilisk) and Swine (Of Swine et al). Whilst both aforementioned bands are amazing in their own right they don't really reflect what is offered up on Famine. Hateful Abandon, to use a cliche, is more than the sum of it's parts.


The most important point to raise in any review is that the music of Hateful Abandon is pretty far removed from the black metal that both members are known (Or are they?) for. Famine carries a strong dub influence ala early Public Image Ltd. Spacious production with heavy focus on the rhythm section. In both composition and delivery Famine harkens back to the time period between '78 and '84 when Post-Punk was still a rich, rewarding musical movement. This is not to say that the record is stagnant, it injects a far darker atmosphere as cold and grim as any "pure" Black Metal album. The tracks are peppered with harsher vocals which gel perfectly with the claustrophobic atmosphere created and lend the Black Metal edge to the album.


Vintyr's vocals are at times harsh and commanding and at others damaged and pleading. Running an emotional gambit but never sounding forced. Always gelling with the music. It's really hard to pin-point a similar sound, Famine races between Disintegration era Cure atmosphere, Joy Division bass lines (No, literally a Joy Division bass line), Joyless esq "Depressive Rock". It's a refreshing listen coming out of two (practically) dead genres. The most frequent similarities appear to be to the United States band Grinning Plowmen (Specifically their track Inquisition). Famine is, as a whole, a fantastic album. With a concrete vision and style that never falters.

Zebra Mu - Feeble

Artist Zebra Mu

Label Side-A Records

Year 2010
Genre(s) Harsh Noise

Zebra Mu is a one man project, utilizing various instruments and non-instrumental methods in order to create his noise. On Feeble he serves up 6 tracks and just over 15 minutes of awesome noise. Also worthy of note is that this is the first release by Side-A Records.


The first track, Drill Part, mixes some flat out harsh noise with denser layers, sounding like ruptured beats. Not really falling into the rhythmic noise area but keeping it varied and interesting. Whilst being harsh it showcases a fantastic control over the elements used in construction.


Stamping Down is a harsher affair. Though it has an unfortunately muddy final mix, like a Masonna cassette that you accidentaly put through the wash. It may be the intentional but I don't really think it works that well.


Challenged is a little ditty of rumble and hiss, there's not much variation but the short run time means that it doesn't outstay it's welcome. This is followed instantly by Never Know, imagine a low rent Grindhouse movie about chain fighting (Stick with me here) that you find on VHS. The VHS is mangled but still has certain sections that you can watch. In a nutshell that's Never Know, sleazy, murky and rough around the edges. Just the way it should be. The fractured speech samples add a great oppressive atmosphere to the track.


Lax sets out like the current "in" wave of drone from the US. Murky rumbles and weirdo samples building in intensity. Like watching the chain fighting VHS on slow rewind. A much darker and more introspective track that any that have come before. Juddering along and decaying. A fantastic use of samples once again. Finally we have Into Then, opening with slow drumming echoing around the confines of your head. The darker atmosphere is maintained until sudden blasts of noise rupture the tension. The drumming begins to build, becoming more aggressive. A feeling not unlike some more Industrial based works. Ending upon fading vocals, whispering words twist around each other.


Feeble is a good release. It showcases multiple sides to Zebra Mu, there's the mild falter with Stamping Down, but besides that there's no real faults. The mixture of dark ambient, industrial and noise is well utilized and even in such an oversaturated genre still manages to sound fresh. I'd advise picking this up, as far as I know it's a pretty limited release.

Heatsick - Reverse Gardens

Artist Heatsick

Label Turgid Animal

Year 2007

Genre(s) Drone

I came to know Birds of Delay before having even heard of Heatsick. The Berlin side of this UK/Germany duo, Steven Warwick, also produces acid mangled jams under the moniker of Heatsick. Taking a sledgehammer to conventions in favour of free-form psychedelic scuzz. I first heard Perpendicular Rain on Not Not Fun and had an insane desire to track down more from the demented warped electronics maestro.

Enter Reverse Gardens on the UK based Turgid Animal label. On this release Warwick offers two tripped out jams, each around the thirty minute mark and each offering up a veritable smorgasbord of spacey, warped and shuddering psychedelic noise. All the usual characteristics of noise are present, pulsating high end and rumbling low end. Hiss, fuzz and skree. At the same time these elements are twisted and redefined. Like pushing the circular block into the square hole but managing to make it fit. The tracks are repetitive but never to their detriment, lulling and tripped out. Imagine being plucked out of your bed by a UFO suffering engine troubles, pluming smoke into your bedroom and obscuring everything. The warbling noise shudders along, dragging the listener with it. Sections repeat, loop and merge seamlessly into one another all the while wrapped in a blanket of hiss. Lay back, relax and let the journey commence.

Side B sounds like an electrical fault in a dub studio, with King Tubby looking on in horror as screechy wah takes over his bubbling bass. Not too dissimilar from some earlier Sun Araw work. The mangled electronics start to take over the track, pulsing to the top. There's a lot of projects that claim in their little blurbs to be the result of "broken electronics" but I don't think any really hammer that fact home in their music, Heatsick on the other hand sounds like the expert handling of broken electronics to make a cohesive complete product. Reverse Gardens makes strong use of repetition, sounding like early Psychedelic Rock (Blue Cheer, maybe even Christine 23 Onna) in the process of being pushed through a blender. Repetition slowly warping as it becomes more and more damaged.