With each project providing a side of the album (or half of a CD), the whole is a series of dark compositions that are as complex as they are intimidating. The best part, however, is how these nuanced pieces sound like no one else.
Mamiffer’s "Uncrossing" differs from their contribution on the split LP with Oakeater, focusing more on subtle textures and sparse, plaintive piano.The quiet background slowly becomes deeper and more cavernous, reverberating everything around it before dropping to silence, disrupted by a deep, echoing gunshot-like drum beat.
Soon the track builds again, bringing in a massive organ drone and a huge wall of scraping and grinding sounds over the disquieting rhythm.While the track on the Oakeater split reminded me of Skullflower, here it feels more like a denser, metal tinged take on Organum.While there’s more layers of sound here than David Jackman would usually include, the careful use of tone definitely resembles his work, in the best possible way.
Aaron Turner's House of Low Culture contributes "Ice Mole," with help from Z'EV on percussion.Opening with quiet static-y sounds and distant, menacing hums, Turner’s guitar becomes a prominent feature immediately, but changes its character throughout.Initially it drones along with his vocals, which are layered and off in the distance.
The piece builds into heavier, denser sounds that are stripped away to leave only quiet piano interludes before bringing back the static and guitar, with some more obvious metal percussion to be heard.The guitar builds to an overdriven, grinding fuzz before closing the song on more traditional guitar playing, letting delicate notes chime out in the open.
One of the best things about his album is the fact that neither side can fit into any real sort of pigeon hole.There's some drone, some metal, some industrial, and some noise kicking around on here that come together perfectly.Genre labels don’t really apply, nor should they.This split has the right amount of dark tension, but avoids any possible cliché associated with it, and instead both artists excel at creating moody, yet diverse and complex works that are simply compelling.
samples:
- Mamiffer - "Uncrossing"
- House of Low Culture - "Ice Mole" (Excerpt 1)
- House of Low Culture - "Ice Mole" (Excerpt 2)
 
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