Unsane - Unsane (1991)

There must be something in the water in New York. Everything from the no wave-movement starting in the mid-70's, up to some of the most critically acclaimed names in noise rock and alternative music in the late 80's, a big load of the good stuff seemed to originate from the Big Apple.

Among the Cop Shoot Cop's, Helmet's and Sonic Youth's was another band started up by three college friends, Lawn-Chair-Blisters. As cool as the name may have sounded back in '88, I'm really happy about the switch to Unsane. Technically not a correct word, but is any term more fitting to describe this band than being sane, but choosing not to exercise it?

The trio of Chris Spencer on vocals and guitar, Pete Shore on bass, and Charlie Ondras on drums, shamelessly fused abrasive noise rock and hardcore into a feedback-heavy melting pot of anger and frustration. The result was a distorted combination of furious drum barrages, thumping bass accompanying the wailing guitar and painfully howled and screamed vocalisations serving as the icing on the cake.

Like the whole record, loud and violent, the cover of a decapitated man managed to stir up some mixed emotions. Wearing a jacket of the Members only-brand, whose tagline just happened to be "when you put it on, something happens", the headless bloke goes to underline the absurd black comedy and anger of the band even further.

Hard, pissed off and catchy as hell, these boys piss vinegar and shit anchor chain. Enjoy!

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(80MB/320CBR)

Spasm - Smear (1997)

The end of the month is coming up once again, so let's close it with a bang!

Bringing the bang for your buck is Spasm, a group consisting of Mark Spybey (Dead Voices On Air, ex-Zoviet France), Eric Pounder (Pounder, ex-Lab Report), Curse Mackey (Pigface, ex-Evil Mothers) and Invisible Records-owner Martin Atkins (Pigface, ex-The Killing Joke).

This collective goes for an hourlong attack with improvised noise rock. The tracks are constructed around Martin Atkins's somewhat unorthodox drumming, with a barrage of odd vocalisations provided by Mark Spybey. The main building blocks are the fragments of sound taken from the recording session; everything from guitar drones, blurred howls and feedback to the oddly timed speech sample.

I bet the drugs which were consumed before the recording session kicked in somewhere around the fifth track, as Ignorance is bliss marks the beginning of a psychedelic fuzzfest for the rest of the disc.

Although the improvisation is a key element of the band, it never spirals totally out of control and I think everything holds together really well. Although this big psychedelic mess can be a bit overwhelming at times, I still have to admit enjoying every second of the organised chaos. Distorted space rock ritual for the industrial age? Fuck if I know. It's atmospheric, "out there" and loud. What else do you possibly need in life?

Hope you enjoy!

Download part 1
Download part 2
(95+45MB/320CBR)