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Gareth Hardwick / Last of the Real Hardmen
At last! Someone has had the good manners to include a CD-R with their lathe cut release. This 8” split sees both acts going in the opposite direction of their usual material, making the best records of their discographies so far. The Low Point label continues its roll of great music, with label head Gareth Hardwick offering up something a little more composed than usual and Last of the Real Hardmen hitting subdued free rock.
Hardwick’s swerving eight minutes of mismatched loops set up a beautiful mood of stalled movement. Drips of clear sound flitting around the main parts like frayed reverb or delicate harp strums. At times these pieces seem like piano notes pulled like sticky toffee, exaggerating their endnotes and tailing off into nothing.
Last of the Real Hardmen is the name given to Chris Summerlin’s diverse and gorgeous solo output, and here he turns things up a little to dedicate a jam to a Stooges guitarist. The wahwah guitar/drums piece here (which is revealed in its extended glory on the handy CD-R) refuses to slob out to a blow-out, instead keeping its head somewhere musical and feet stomping on the ground. There are moments of Tom Carter-style guitar delicacy that make this a contender for whatever platitudes/tag they’re spitting out this week for this sort of thing. It’s a genuine pleasure to keep these two on a loop for the best part of a few hours.
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