Forget every "rule" of noise, do away with any preconceptions concernedwith the genre, and prepare for something just a bit different. Thereare silences, sonic abberations, variations in pitch, timbre, andduration, and a wide palette of moans, groans, and explosions used allat once. Variety and intrigue is the name of the game on Moonlight In Vermontand Emil Beaulieau is chess master (if you will). Sure, there'spunishing, unrelenting, cascading, headache-inducing assaults to befound on this disc, but there's also dynamic elements. Most noise I'veheard ends up sounding like one mass of destruction hell-bent onchewing concrete. Beaulieau's noise is different because he is capableof using sonically opposite sounds together. It could still eatconcrete for breakfast, though. The first half is a nuclear melt-downaccompanied by random samples (like a flute), electric stabs of rhythm,and the sound of unholy wails. If this is what a moonlit Vermont soundslike, I'm staying the hell out unless I have a shotgun and a smallarmy. It's a truly scary summit that is reached before the fifth track(all of them are unnamed) acts as an oxygen tank and restores somesense of direction and balance. What sounds like a backwards guitarhums in the background whilst changing tones, punchy gasps of static,and roaring winds pour through the speakers. It makes getting submergedbeneath the final two tracks a bit easier. Beaulieau's recorded soundhas as much character as his live performances have but it's twistedand shaped in different ways. Sounds just don't start and stop; they'realive and full of nuance. The last I checked, Moonlight was only available on the tour but with some luck perhaps it'll show up at RRRecords, soon. Read More
