BRIDGET HAYDEN - A SIREN BLARES IN AN INDIFFERENT OCEAN LP - KRAAK
Well, Dusted beat me to the punch with their write-up of this record this morning -- got copies of it a couple weeks ago and it's been in pretty heavy rotation since. Stark, meditative, completely blasted and completely beautiful. Noise Music is possibly one of the most hermetic genres, rarely accessible by any other terms than it's own. (It's telling that the recent diaspora into drone and synthesizer music has been a clean break.) This LP is remarkable for the unrelenting waves of frayed guitar that none-the-less allow suggestions of voice and song to glimmer beneath the surface. I don't hesitate to call this album beautiful -- and one of the most beautiful I've heard all year -- but that doesn't mean that it's not also abrasive and repetitive. It's a difficult record but well worth the engagement. I recommend it highly. $15