Just in case you're wondering, Disaster Amnesiac can confirm that it's still daunting to review sounds produced by S*Glass. It's no exaggeration when stated that the dude's an OG on the Noise scene, having shared mental spaces with high flyers such as C. Spencer Yeh, Wolf Eyes, Monotract etc. Also harrowing when considered is his being main man of Bananafish magazine, the no nonsense taste maker of many things Free Jazz and Noise and so forth. So yeah that if can feel kind of weighted when attempts are made to describe his releases. Still, Public Eyesore sent a copy of
Benign Neglect my way, and that is a rare privilege so let's unpack shall we. First track
Abandoned Information Kiosk sends out a lot of what sound to be distressed human voices. These field recordings conjure urban street scenes such as on recounted on the back of the cover of
Neglect. They have reminded Disaster Amnesiac of the non-verbal enunciated pronouncements of many an autistic person that I've worked with since 2014 or so. The track is not entirely incomprehensible as all that, though. There are portions of it which provide significant tones for imaginary travels. Even those distresses can seem musical when framed by Glass's aesthetics.
I Have A Prepared Statement comes next, and it starts out Harsh Noise before pivoted to Drone rather quickly. Isolated spiritual chants of varied traditions are highlighted, surrounded by whirring tones and fuzzed episodes. Just as is the case in its predecessor, it's eerie, murky, and un-centered like a Bardo. Then, suddenly, a deep Prog riff occurs. The last third of the it has felt Metal in horror movie soundtrack kind of way. For some reason Disaster Amnesiac has thought about the writings of Deleuze & Guattari as I've listened also; perhaps on account of its slow motion schizo movement?
Benign Neglect concludes with
The Exact Opposite Of Surveillance which is a completely agreeable notion to this citizen. It features the most consistently interesting samples, paired with repetitive sound motifs. It's uncannily oddball without necessarily trying to be so, and as such it's an effective mirroring of how the world just is now. Very much worth the wait. Is the murkiness of our society in its current state a bummer for S*Glass? A lot of
Benign Neglect gives off that aura, and yet he must find joy in preparing this surreal soundtrack of pieces from this zeitgeist's sickened underbelly.
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