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Olivier Dumont, "Living in Holes and Disused Shafts"
Culled from home demo recordings, this new artist flexes his muscles in that dark area where metal, drone, and noise mingle, and the result is a set of five very different tracks that capture the essence of the respective genres, but never feels like by the numbers simplicity.
The opening "Room 237" is based on what is listed as a "buzz cable" as the only instrument. My assumption (perhaps false) is that this is the traditional noise tactic of running a simple sound through a battery of effects and seeing what comes out. The sound of the track seems to support my thesis though, because it sounds like the intersection of sustained Japanese noise roar with traditionally American cut up power electronics grind. It’s very old school, thick and crunchy in its approach.
"Peep Show Arcade," created using only tape recordings, features mangled guitar shredding cut up and fuzzed out through tape tricks, though it comes out more like a mutant take on thrash metal solos. "Should We Move On Or Stay Safely Away" is based on guitar, and mostly of the harsh sustained variety. The tone is completely fuzzed out and near the middle portion of the sonic spectrum. It’s not very dynamic, but there is a decent enough amount of variation to the sound, and lots of good scraping and grinding textures. It focuses more on the feedback, and the title is a Joy Division reference, so it has to be pretty good.
"R-Grey" is a more rhythmic track, based around overdriven guitar textures and stuttering, almost drum-like percussive sounds. It is a more dynamic piece compared to the previous, and its organic sound contrasts dense noisy sections with more sparse and open ones. However, through it all there is a grimy and crusted over sound that never goes away, and it is the audio equivalent of nausea. I mean that as an utmost compliment, however, as any sort of sound that can be so viscerally satisfying is always a great thing.
The disc closes with the title track, which is also a guitar-based piece. Here the sonic dirt and grime is not as prevalent as it was previously, but some of the debris remains. While also highly textural, there is more of a mystery to the track. It has a very dramatic sound to it, and the textures are just as tactile as in "R-Grey," but less gory.
Apparently his debut release, Dumont is already showing skill at weaving sonic textures that rival some of the best. For those (like me) who like their noise so thick and varied that it can almost be felt, this is essential listening.
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