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Tribes Of Neurot, 'Adaptation And Survival'

Neurot Recordings
This side project of Neurosis has been releasing some of the bestexperimental music since their first album, 'Silver Blood Transmission'in 1995. This one has been several years in the making, and is"dedicated to and inspired by... and originally produced by insects"according to the insert.Disc One opens with the 2-minute "High Mobility", as a slow bass line is permeated with a shrill swirl of echoing bugs.Track 2, "Adaptability" sounds like an ant's aural perspective whenthousands of its brethren are hastily running around. These tracksremind me of what Mark Spybey puts out on Hafted Maul without theparticular toy which dominates each song. Unlike a lot of experimentalacts you can hear and follow what is going on. Nothing irritates memore than when you listen to a 10-minute track where you have to leaninto the speaker because it's turned all the way up and you 're notsure if you can hear anything. There is definitely something going onhere, like track 4 'Small Size' which starts off with an undulatingrushing flutter that runs throughout the entire track. Layered on topand underneath of that are beating hearts and steel cords being drugacross plastic grating. If you like layered music this is for you. Attimes during track 5, 'metamorphosis', I am reminded of the feel I getfrom Nurse With Wounds 'Swan Song' from 'A missing Sense'. That rushingback and forth of the same drone, though not nearly as intense in thisform. Only coming in at 33 minutes and 28 seconds isn't a whole lot ofmaterial, but it is a double CD. Disc two is all one track, clocking inat 34 minutes and 25 seconds which is odd, considering they are meantto be played together. I notice some of the same sounds in the firstfew minutes, but it is also a much more intense display. The same humcomes in and out through the whole track and there may even be a chorusof shrieking madness. There is no general song structure or percussionhere, just sounds, which appeals to many. I like listening to this discat work real loud and confusing everyone around me. They don't knowwhat they are hearing.