Friday, January 5, 2018

LSJ-Misty Nights; eh? Records #98, cassette

Hot on the heels of the lush, lovely eh? #97, and the perceptions are forcibly turned over into a completely different space with Misty Nights, the collaborative tape release from Noise troika of Lisa Cameron, Shawn David McMillen and Josh Ronsen.
What one will find here is a much more noisy, murky affair, full of blasting sonic battling and mysterious, unsettling quieter passages.
Things kick off right away with Rayon Gingham, which, after some clarinet/guitar tuning, blasts off into the outer limits of Noise. It's as if this trio start off searching for a door to opened; once it's found, they kick the damn thing off its hinges and destroy the room. Seriously wailing catharsis all over the place from what sounds like amplified feedback and vocalized expressionism.
Side one continues on with Video Pirate, featuring more of those looming feedback strains and percussive taps. This one has a kind of searching feeling as LSJ search around each others' sonic noggin spaces for openings through which to find new spots. The levels drop to practically silent at times, and the drama gets palpable. Listen close for the mysteries.
Third up, and last for side A, SVU in SUV at SVT rolls out chiming percussive hits and more Noise winds, seemingly blowing over from Pirate, before lifting off into full-blown feedback knocks  pulsing body blows. It's paced slow and low, but don't let it lull you: your mind may get TKO'd, especially from its closing blasts. They're worth waiting for, but just have some smelling salts in your corner for side B's rounds....
Which commence with Pants with Shit-ton of Pockets, wherein some shifty plans are laid out on the table re: clarinet talents, a cell phone rings, and the group continues with their primordial jamming; more scraping, de-tuned strumming, and just overall primitive questing for new Noise fires leads to more of those big, sweeping sound waves of percussive hits and attacking stabs that jump out of the speakers and into the listener's sweet spots.
Misty Nights ends with the thematically linked Dead Fog and Dead Fog II: The Chirping. With dramatic, almost nausea-inducing feedback to start, and clipping, clattering hits surrounding it, Dead Fog travels to scenes of aligned, disturbing buzzing and compellingly creepy drama. If this soundtrack is not for a real movie, Disaster Amnesiac strongly suggests that someone out there get down to making it. LSJ have provided a scarily effective score for it. It's there for the taking, so get on with it!
Much as its predecessor at eh? Records, but coming from an entirely different aesthetic root, Misty Nights is packaged quite nicely, with  a cool, insert that gives this trio's creation myth and a lush, well-lettered J-card.
Although it's stated that this recording was done in a living room, as Disaster Amnesiac has listened, I've imagined Cameron, McMillen, and Ronsen ensconced in some dank basement, blasting away the mildew on the wall and shaking up the subterranean environment. Misty Nights has that kind of Underground shock to it.

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