Norss – Braakland Nul

One thing you don't see much in the noise world is a remix album, so I'm always a little curious when one crops up. Such is the case with Braakland Nul, by Norss. Included on this release are the original composition "Braakland" and two subsquent remixes performed by the artist himself. Overall the album is very dark and very minimal, and the innocuous nature of the tracks lend it well to background listening for most any activity. Nothing spectacular going on here, but occasionally a long and subtle ambience fits the mood.

(3.5/5)

Voder – Fields

Last on this week's list of albums to review from Just Not Normal is Fields, by British artist Voder. There are a number of words I could use to describe this album: lush, majestic, sublime. Typically I'm not much for mixing melody and dark ambient, but somehow this worked; and worked really well. Each track lumbers through a densely swelling haze of atmosphere, perfectly balancing the slow march of dark melody with touches of restrained distorted brutality. My only complaint about this album is that it was too short, but I am willing to accept that limitation as a trade-off for the available material being so remarkably satisfying.

(5/5)

Planetaldol – Ballad For Knacker

Up next on my Things To Review From Just Not Normal is a brilliant live set from Planetaldol. Ballad For Knacker opens up with an incredibly disturbing movie sample that segues into the main track by means of a slowly building layer of dark ambience. This establishes an appropriately morbid tone for the remainder of the set. The 38-minute performance deftly undulates through a series of deep and dank ambient backdrops over which are applied a host of sounds that evoke an eerie darkness. One of the best dark ambient pieces I've heard in a long time, and that it was a live performance only serves to elevate my appreciation even more.

(5/5)

Achnn – Les Draps et la Plinthe

The second of the albums I nabbed from Just Not Normal is Les Draps et la Plinthe, by Achnn. It's a jangling odyssey set in a milieu of mildly cacophonous clatterings and digitally-artifacted clicks. This album achieved a depth of texture with an excellent application of sound layering, incorporating a seemingly endless host of both natural and artificial sounds (users of AT&T's Edge network will find themselves reaching for their phone on more than one occasion, only to realize it's the track and not RF interference). That being said, the cacophony rarely gives up any depth of emotion, which gives the overall album a very clinical and cold feeling; with the exception being "Rateau", which manages to invoke a depth of texture and emotion.

Better in small doses, though superbly executed.
(3.5/5)

Apocalyptic Frequency Experience – Musings on Human Metamorphoses

It's been some time that I've been meaning to pick up some new noise and write a noise review or two, so I decided that my first stop should be the Just Not Normal netlabel. The offerings there are voluminous, so I scrolled through until I found a few albums that sounded interesting. Here're my thoughts on this one:

I'm not as active in the noise/experimental scenes as I used to be - either online or in real life. Fortunately for me, noise hasn't changed much in the last few years. Musings on Human Metamorphoses is a quick jaunt down the path of minimal audio manipulation. There are touches of classic electroacoustic dabbed throughout this offering of largely clashing snippets of audio. The brevity of this album is both a saving grace and a shortcoming. On the one hand, with ten tracks averaging around two minutes apiece, it never settles down long enough for the repetition of a single track to wear thin. On the other hand, the short track life and nonexistent track cohesion literally obliterate any chance of an evolution of sound or aural narrative.

Overall it is a well-executed album in its style. My current tastes trend toward something with a little more depth and grandeur, so take this review with that grain of salt.

(3/5)