Global Clone compiles tracks from earlier cassettes for fickle digital ears, though still retaining their obliqueness (none of the five tracks are titled). GMS and Pete Swanson are coming from the diverse background of some of the more current "mainstream" noise artists (a la Wolf Eyes) by encompassing a greater variety of influences, such as industrial, electro-acoustic, and dub, as opposed to the "crank the distortion to 11 and get mic feedback" that many other artists adhere to, and it shows. The tracks making up this disc are more about the mood than the full on audial assault, such as the lo-fi siren loops with vocal chants and growls on the sprawling 22+ minute second track, and the sloth-in-molasses slow third track, which trudges through thick muck with feedback, guitars, and dubby percussion elements. The last two tracks, also the shortest, are perhaps among the most conventional of the noise scene, building on looped siren tones and distorted synths akin to some of M.B.'s (before he was Maurizio Bianchi and found Jehovah) earlier output.
Any sort of "noise" work is basically an acquired taste, but some are able to transcend the "I can endure 50 hours of Merzbow" club and become more than just an endurance test, and this is one of them. You're not going to see the Yellow Swans opening up for the LCD Soundsystem anytime soon, but the restrained textures and mood of Global Clone will make it more palatable for less adventurous listeners.
Read More
