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The list of singer-songwriters as raw as Emma Louise "Scout" Niblett is very short. Names like P.J. Harvey and Patti Smith come to mind when thinking of her and, in some ways, both of them are more suitable reference points than the grunge bands Scout has named-checked as her influences. On The Calcination of Scout Niblett she sounds as severe as she ever has and starker, too. But, if Scout began her career under the wings of Nirvana and Sonic Youth, she's long since graduated to something more original, less obvious, and much, much more ominous.
When "Just Do It!" begins I'm immediately reminded of Neil Young, but not because Scout is gravitating towards her folk influences these days. Her attitude and sound is too introspective for punk rock, too heavy for folk, and too atmospheric for grunge, but she undeniably draws from all of these influences and has a fondness, like Young, for fluctuating between all of them, sometimes in the same song. The album begins with a gnarly and fuzzed-out melodic hook, but it quickly goes quiet as Niblett sings "And the voices said just do it / And I think I will" in a cocky, almost angry snarl. What exactly she intends to do is left a little ambiguous, but I get the sense it is meant as a threat, perhaps to herself. With her trademarked big drum sound and loud-quiet dynamic in hand, Scout embarks on a quest to set herself on fire in a ritual act of purification. But, in accomplishing this end she does almost nothing to her sound that we haven't already heard. In fact, portions of The Calcination are a little too familiar. So, let me get this out of the way right away: Scout's walking over a lot of the same ground she covered on 2007's This Fool Can Die Now. She's toying with her approach a little bit and bringing back elements from Kidnapped by Neptune and I Am, but all three of those records have so much in common that there's little point in debating the minituae that distinguishes them stylistically. Scout's stubborn determination to stay basically the same is a little frustrating, but as other writers have pointed out she sounds so good that changing anything might be equally frustrating, maybe even detrimental.
That said, The Calcination is much darker than This Fool Can Die Now and a little more satisfying for it. It is easily her most foreboding record. If Scout hasn't changed her sound much, she's made up for it a little by letting her teeth show more than usual. There's no semi-sweet or awkward duets and no video of Scout singing into a hair brush or prancing about on the beach with a skeleton-clad Will Oldham. Instead, Scout delivers a cover lit by the welding torch she is holding, a booklet filled photographs of stones, and lyrics like "Welcome to my self-made sweat box / this is where I take it all off / Sweat / I've got to sweat it out / Cook / I'll cook those monsters out / Because I ain't getting out of here / until my, until my soul appears." There are no playful or cute interludes anywhere on the record, so there's none of the relief that songs like "Dinosaur Egg" or "Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death" provided. Distilled or calcinated or completely stripped down, Scout is more aggressive and serious and probably a little more troubled, too. Her guitars loom and stab where they once danced and rocked out and her drums snap and pound where they were sometimes played like a toy. Whatever has happened to Scout since we last heard from her, it has added a substantial amount of menace to her words and playing. She's become more concise and that's made her more aggressive and fearsome.
The album ends with "Meet and Greet," which sounds like it could be the soundtrack to a showdown in some anachronistic western. A dissonant, casually played melody and some light, atmospheric percussion make up most of the song, together sounding like a thunderstorm on the horizon. Scout sings in a challenging voice throughout it, intimating that some kind of resolution might be on the horizon, too. But, whatever she means when she sings "Jupiter, father of gods, I summon you to me / When are you gonna learn to play that thing?" it sounds more like a provocation than an invitation or a prayer. Scout doesn't ultimatey provide a resolution for all the tension she generates on The Calcination. All we get at the end of "Meet and Greet" is a volcanic splash of distorted guitar and a rumbling, sustained tone. While she has always written heavy, honest, and intimidating music, Scout has never sounded as bleak and frightful as she does here.
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Artist: Merzbow
Title: Graft
Catalogue No: CSR129LP
Barcode: 8 2356649002 9
Format: LP on lime green vinyl in 'bootleg' style sleeve / with bonus 7"
Genre: Japanese Noise
Shipping: 22nd February
Pre-Order LP & 7"
MERZBOW returns to COLD SPRING in blistering form - a sizzling new album length VINYL only limited edition (lime green, ltd x 400 copies) presented in an old-school 'bootleg' style cover and sealed with a sticker. LP regular edition is available only through Cargo Distribution
The special extra limited edition version of the LP comes with bonus 7" (ltd x 150 copies) of exclusive tracks and is only available from COLD SPRING MAIL ORDER. This title will be deleted upon selling out, and the tracks are never to be issued on CD! A one time opportunity to own a true MERZBOW collectors piece! ACT FAST! LP with LTD 7" is available ONLY through Cold Spring Mailorder
Tracks: A1. graft#1 | B1. graft#2
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Artist: Skitliv
Title: Bloodletting
Catalogue No: CSR115P
Barcode: 8 2356649862 9
Format: 10" Picture Disc in stickered PVC sleeve
Genre: Doom / Experimental
Shipping: 22nd February
Pre-Order 10"
Limited edition Picture disc from SKITLIV, the project of former MAYHEM front man MANIAC.
With a line up that includes SHINING’s NIKLAS KVARFORTH, SKITLIV is a disturbed, and disturbing, blackened doom journey through the mind of this legendary Black Metal vocalist who was one of the original exponents of the genre, and is one of its most recognisable figures.
This picture disc is made extra special not only by the inclusion of “Who Will Deliver Us From Gold and Planets” by CURRENT 93 - an introductory collage destruct that was created at the request of Maniac and is dedicated to him, but also because the artwork that is used for the side containing this track is part of one of Tibet’s own paintings.
Ltd x 777 copies. No repress.
Tracks: A1. Current 93 - 'Who Will Deliver us From Gold & Planets?' | A2. Slow Pain Coming (Cold Spring Mix) | B1. A Valley Below (Demo Version)
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Artist: Sehnsucht
Title: Wüste
Catalogue No: CSR124CD
Barcode: 8 2356648992 4
Format: CD in 6-panel digipak
Genre: Experimental / Metal / Acoustic
Shipping: 22nd February
Pre-Order CD
BRAND NEW BAND FROM FORMER MAYHEM FRONTMAN FEATURING MEMBERS OF GALLHAMMER, SKITLIV AND NURSE WITH WOUND
Former MAYHEM front man MANIAC, whose band SKITLIV has proved to be a surprising departure from the Black Metal genre for which he was best known for over 20 years, has formed a side-project with fiancé Vivian Slaughter, bass player/vocalist with the Japanese all-girl band GALLHAMMER, SKITLIV's guitarist Ingvar Magnusson and experimentalist Andrew Liles (NURSE WITH WOUND). Unlike SKITLIV, which is a noise/doom amalgam, with Maniacs vocals still firmly rooted in Black Metal, SEHNSUCHT is in the noise / darkwave / ambient genre, with any vestiges of Black Metal pared away.
Tracks: 1. Sult | 2. Cunt Queen | 3. South Of Cincinnati | 4. Wüste | 5. Tarn Of Guilt | 6. Good Morning Great Moloch | 7. Stadt Der Engerl Der Vernichtung | 8. Tokyo Daymare | 9. Hanging In English Garden | 10. Ten
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Artist: Wicked King Wicker
Title: God Is Busy... Save Yourself
Catalogue No: CSR125CD
Barcode: 8 2356648952 8
Format: CD in jewelcase
Genre: Doom Metal / Harsh Noise
Shipping: Now
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Wicked King Wicker is pure doom. Their brand of guttural expression strips away the rock n roll base and leaves nothing for the listener than the caustic reality of the darkest side of life. It is heavy, barbaric and void of hope. Wicked King Wicker has taken the power of doom metal and added noise to mix to make its point - a point that While their style is not for everyone, the number of people being turned on by their nihilism is growing fast. There are lots of labels that can apply to their music, and other bands with a similar approach to theirs, but the bottom line is Wicked King Wicker is unique, and their extreme doom stands alone as the heaviest, most brutal doom imaginable and it may take you places you don’t want to go.
“God Is Busy… Save Yourself” is WKW's 6th album, and their first released outside of the U.S.
WKW has been celebrated by loyal listeners around the world, as well as in the mainstream music press such as Terrorizer magazine, which gave the band’s first two albums 8.5 ratings.
Tracks: 1. Those Who Bear Responsibility (16:21) | 2. Call My Name Sweet Demon, So I Know I Am Not Alone (18:23) | 3. So Easily Lead Astray (18:12)
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Artist: Iron Fist Of The Sun
Title: Behavioural Decline
Catalogue No: CSR114CD
Barcode: 8 2356648962 7
Format: CD in jewelcase
Genre: Power Electronics / Black Noise
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Personal obsessions skewed by drug use, codes of behaviour observed by a misanthropic mind. Bitter and cold. Nihilistic and scornful. Elitist and Pure. Behavioural Decline documents the rise of treachery and the fall of honour. Power electronics that sonically takes inspiration from electro-acoustics and ideology akin to black metal / black noise. 'Concert For Evening Battle' was recorded live at Radio Black Forest's festival of electro-acoustic music 22/8/2009, Birmingham, England. A deeply personal Recording.
Tracks: 1. Introduction To A Joyless New Start | 2. First Movement Of A Shallow Man | 3. Smile Like Sword | 4. Didn't Stop Me Trying | 5. The Power Of New Septembers | 6. Bluetack | 7. God's New Gravity | 8. Concert For Evening Battle
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Artist: NDE
Title: Krieg Blut Ehre Asche
Catalogue No: CSR110CD
Barcode: 8 2356648922 1
Format: CD in jewelcase
Genre: Martial Industrial / Black Metal / Death Industrial
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Debut from this Belgian duo. Like the dark solitary figure which adorns the cover, NDE are shrouded in mystery and desolation. The music speaks loudly and across the centuries. A unique smelting of malevolent, noisy Black Metal, pounding, anthemic martial drums and wretched Death Industrial in eight acts.
No website. No myspace. No contact details.
Tracks: 1. Krieg Blut Ehre Asche Part I | 2. Krieg Blut Ehre Asche Part II | 3. Krieg Blut Ehre Asche Part III | 4. Krieg Blut Ehre Asche Part IV | 5. Krieg Blut Ehre Asche Part V | 6. Krieg Blut Ehre Asche Part VI | 7. Krieg Blut Ehre Asche Part VII | 8. Krieg Blut Ehre Asche Part VIII
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Artist: Cages
Title: Folding Space
Catalogue No: CSR121CD
Barcode: 8 2356648942 9
Format: CD in jewelcase
Genre: Post-Rock / Experimental
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There is nothing fun or pedestrian about dreams that are uncompromising to the point of reality. The shaking notes that make up “Folding Space” were recorded by two people holed up in their whole respective imaginations of visions of loops, layers and pleading lyrics. It is stubborn but not ugly, nearly one hour of music set in studios buried by blizzards of the American Great Lakes region.
Cages is Nola Ranallo and David Bailey. They practiced, moved apart, relayed tapes through the mail, revised the entire damned thing, and then rejoined to capture every last seizure on this record. They sought sounds from the same dreams that give fools belief and colorfully punctuate the nights of the sanest. It’s sometimes pretty (“Lost Lipids”) or crushing (“Psalm to Mother”; “If It Flies, It Dies”) or left hanged in the speakers (“Dying”). There are elements of dreamy ether and discomfort rather than the easy choruses and catchphrases of the most collected and consumed art form. And, then, you’ll find a song radiating another thing entirely. (sweetness? The Devil’s hand?)
Live, the duo transfers their forged and found music into a very personal presentation that soars above the casually talking show-goers, the poor man’s jazz bands, and the art house showboats. Patrons and fellow musicians are pulled in; sounds are pushed out but never apart.
“Folding Space” is a foot to the honest and hard road, which can quickly cut away the uncurious and reward the rest like the tapes listened to repeatedly in the fevers of your youth. Please mull and judge, and add to the tops or bottoms of the lists you think necessary. And know the visions backing this elaborate music were recorded and are performed for a primary reason: to exist freely.
Justin Kern (Sept. 24, 2009 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.)
High quality artwork with bronze print. For fans of Swans, Björkk, Portishead, PJ Harvey
Tracks: 1. Dying | 2. If It Flies, It Dies | 3. Cavern | 4. Dream Dip Sailor | 5. Psalm To Mother | 6. Lost Lipids | 7. Prisons Of Light | 8. The New Forever | 8. Approaching White Light
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The latest installment in this duo’s quest to pervert well known forms of music may be its most difficult album yet. On the surface it seems the most conventional: a live performance of Anders Bryngelsson on drums and Mattin on guitar with the assistance of some backing tapes, but the way in which these two interpret the blues is anything but.  It is one of those records that is rather unpleasant to listen to, and that is exactly the point of it.
First of all, Regler's interpretation of the blues is a very loose one, but is still faithful to the basic nature of the style.Latching on to the genre’s cyclic repetition, the main musical portion of the album is a plodding, repetitious blast of distorted guitars, primitive rhythms, and the occasional guttural growl.The resemblance to Swans’ earliest recordings is undeniable, and fitting, given that Michael Gira himself has discussed numerous times the influence of Howlin’ Wolf and the like had on his band.
The second blues connection is, however, more thematic.This record was captured live just over a year ago (September 23, 2016, in Berlin), foreshadowing the political turmoil that was soon to plague Western Civilization as we know it(hence the title).Accompanying the music are multiple recordings from the news, European and American, and even when the language may not be familiar to these ears, the anger and frustration conveyed is universal.
Over the doomy throb the two create with their instruments, the aftermaths of terrorist attacks, police shootings in the United States, and pre-Brexit, pre-Trump protests are all captured here.Besides just chanting, yelling, and speaking, there is more than a few instances of emergency sirens, police radios, and gunfire to really ramp up the tension and hammer home the unsettling nature of the music.At times (and surely intentionally), the tapes are distinctly louder than the music being played, making the intent painfully apparent.
All the while, Bryngelsson and Mattin pound away, a dull throb that shifts and evolves as the performance goes on, but never loses focus.On the second half the rhythm shifts up a bit, and the guitar alternates from low end sludge to shrill, metallic and feedback-laden.Towards the end of the performance, the playing gets even more unhinged, fitting the tension that builds to a head, before collapsing on loops of sirens and an abrupt conclusion.
Regler #9 is admittedly a very unpleasant record.Throughout I was definitely feeling the tension that was constructed as the performance went on, both from the tapes played and the music itself.At this point though I feel as if performance has an even stronger impact, since those worst-case scenarios that are channeled via the protests and television news broadcasts have largely come to pass.It is rhythmic, repetitive, and depressing as all hell, and I cannot think of a more fitting interpretation of the blues on such a macro scale.
samples:
- Blues for Western Civilization (Part 1)
- Blues for Western Civilization (Part 2, Excerpt 1)
- Blues for Western Civilization (Part 2, Excerpt 2)
 
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This six disc box set is a nice time capsule for the extremely prolific Drumm's work from 2013 through 2016. Which means, of course, by now this stuff is old hat and there is likely to be another 15 or so albums worth of material available to download at this point. However, Drumm's work is something to be digested slowly and methodically, and with Giuseppe Ielasi ensuring a top quality remastering, it makes for an essential collection of work that is fitting for both new listeners and those who have been there for a while.
Elapsed Time is clearly a compilation, and one that culls from a multitude of digital only and extremely limited releases.This also means that the approach Drumm uses for these works can differ greatly, from pure sine waves to computers to simply "found" recordings, though oddly enough none of the guitar he was initially recognized for.Even pulled from these widely varying sources, however, there is a sense of cohesion to these recordings, even if they are unified only by Drumm's adept hand at composition and sound design.
The three pieces that make up much of "Equinox" (Disc Five) represent Drumm at his most minimal.In this case what was used to make the recordings is unclear, but the result is a very sparse series of tones, mostly frozen on the first segment but more spacious and evolving on the second and third.The tones rise and fall in pitch slowly, shifting around and conveying some dynamism as basic as they are.For "The Sea Wins" he utilizes just sine, sawtooth, and pulse waves, but from that he constructs some beautiful, pure organ-like tones that grow and evolve as the piece develops for a bit over a half hour.
At other times, Drumm's focus shifts towards the more abrasive, distorted end of his art.The five segments of "Tannenbaum" (a limited double cassette issued with the CD of the same name) begins with the same sort of tonal purity, but with an unquestionable bleakness that just gets worse as it goes on.Eventually a buzzing synthesizer is expanded to a full on noise abyss, mixed with a bassy hum that feels like an early MB record stripped to its barest, darkest essentials.Much of "February" is quiet, but leans very heavy on the lower end, preventing it from fading too much into the background.It is sparse, but still commands attention via the rumbling electronics."Bolero Muter" is another harsher work within this set.Via computer spectral processing, there is a buzzing, distorted sheen to the electronics that eventually builds to a full on wall of metallic noise before slowly mellowing back out.
Disc 3’s "Earrach (Part 1)" is one of the standout pieces here if for nothing else its sheer oddness compared to the rest of the set.Consisting entirely of randomly selected pre-recorded tapes, Drumm mangles them as they play, capturing the sputtering motors and incidental noises that are inevitable with such a performance.It has a more traditionalist "noise" feel to it, and is appropriately dense and jerky in sound and structure.The set ends with the two part "The Whole House", created simply from a cheap hand-held tape cassette from Radio Shack and capturing the ambience in Drumm's home.What begins as a sparse buzz eventually evolves into insect-like chirps and mangled tapes, building to a jet engine-like roar.I am not sure exactly what goes on in Drumm’s house, but this makes it sound absolutely terrifying.
There is a lot to take in throughout Elapsed Time.With six packed CDs, it amounts to nearly seven hours of Kevin Drumm experimentation.As an artist who at times is a bit difficult (to say the least), it can be a challenge to absorb fully.However, the vast array of styles and works to be had here makes it an engaging challenge, one that can differ widely from disc to disc, but never lacks the cohesion and touch of a master craftsman and composer working at the top of his game.
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As loathe as I am of the term, perhaps this is conceptually the best approach to the "mashup" in recent memory. Rather than just slapping together two disparate songs with the same BPM for the sake of being "hip", Petit (a member of Strings of Consciousness and head of the BiP_HOp label) has instead created a soundtrack synthesizing the classic Lynch film with Shinya Tsukamoto’s esoteric cyberpunk nightmare, resulting in a cacophonous, disorienting mess of sound.
This is one of those faux soundtracks that doesn’t require any familiarity with the conceptual source material to enjoy, but the characteristics of both films shine through in the composition. The opening "Salaryman’s Dream" jumps in immediately with mangled and flanged string tones, rustling static and the occasional random percussive crash. Over the clicks and deep, pulsing bass assaults, the electronic wreckage begins to resemble industrial presses crushing metal garbage into cubes, and one can almost visualize the metal fetishist from Tetsuo looking on in a sexual frenzy. Swirling harsh alien ambience envelopes almost everything, while mutant horns sound like lost radio transmissions from Sun Ra still traveling through space. The long piece closes on banging, almost traditional industrial rhythms.
The second track, "In Tokyo Henry Spencer is Fine" brings in more of Petit’s vinyl fetish, layering complex surface noise and sped up guitar spinning off vinyl. The collage of noise is more restrained here, but still menacing, with blown out feedback tones blasting through. The sound oscillates between noise and softer sounds, but the overall sound is alienating industrial chaos. Petit throws in the a bit of the FM3 Buddha Machine as well, but under heavy treatment and processing.
The closing track, "Lady in the Radiator Meets the Fetishist" again lays on the surface noise heavily, while adding stuttering vinyl scrapes and rising guitar feedback, invoking a sense of lurking dread that gets more and more intense. The track moves at a limp, like a slow moving lava flow destroying everything in its path. Through the flaming muck I can hear more brain damaged jazz horns with tremolo-ed fragments of techno synth, and the track becomes an unending battle between jazz, techno, and pure noise.
Even without using any of the original source material, Petit combines the schizophrenic noise chaos of Eraserhead with the abstract industrial dystopia of Tetsuo, and the combination works out very well. The symbolism is wonderful here, though as a listening experience, it’s almost too intense. The sense of dread and menace never relents, there are no quiet or introspective movements, the darkness just continues on and on. Perhaps that’s the point, though!
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