Jason Crumer - Ottoman Black
I like noise. I like noise a lot. But it’s not something I can listen to often. A lot of noise artists generate huge walls of unchanging, unrelenting sound that would leave you with a headache if you didn’t get bored and shut it off once you got the gist.
Not so with Jason Crumer’s Ottoman Black.
The walls of sound are there, but they’re layered and and varied and they never get boring (provided you like this sort of thing in the first place which, understandably, you may not). It’s abrasive as all get-out, and at times disturbing — two tracks feature what sounds like someone being beaten and strangled — but it doesn’t make my head hurt or my stomach turn. I can listen to it at work and let it play in the background (which I did today — twice), or I can play it at incredibly high volumes and give it my undivided attention (recommended!) and enjoy it all the same.
I’m not a noise aficionado by any stretch, but I know what I like and this is one of the best noise albums I’ve heard in a while. If you actually want to give it a shot, you know where to grab it.
Comments
I’m up later than usual getting some work done. I just got through Lightning Bolt Wonderful Rainbow and Battles Mirrored. This post could not have come at a better time for me.
I’m not really into noise.
I tried getting into Wolf Eyes once, but accidentally left it on repeat while I slept.
I had the worst nightmare of my life.
Remember that Wolf Eyes show we attended, Hutch? That was a nightmare. You had me so pumped up and then, what do you know, they completely changed their sound.
If I had done a bit more research, I would have discovered that they basically never play the same stuff twice and that while I was drawn to the rhythmic aspects of Burned Mind, it was outside the norm for them.
Prurient was worth seeing, though.
So did you listen?
And Reg, this stuff is definitely in the same vein as Wolf Eyes, but a little less terrifying. Still, I can’t imagine the sounds of someone being beaten and strangled that float through every now and again would positively affect your dreams.
Many fans of the noise genre think Wolf Eyes are to noise what Green Day/Rancid were to punk in the 90s. The argument is that all the rhythm you heard on Burned Mind isn’t “true” noise. Every genre has asshole purists and elitists who think that bands are only good at the demo level, but are posers when they release their first album. Just giving you an idea of what some people think of Wolf Eyes.
The noise genre has been gaining popularity over the last 5 or so years. Projects like Prurient, Gnaw Their Tongues and Aluk Todolo, as well as labels like Sub Pop (Wolf Eyes), Troubleman, Hydrahead and Southern Lord are raising awareness of the genre outside of the normal noise/experimental world. So as more people are getting turned on to the noise genre and going to events like No Fun Fest, they are incorporating other influences into the noise world and crossing the boundaries of what is called noise.
So, there are more and more good noise projects coming out these days. Jason Crumer is one of them. I like the sense of suspense he has on his tracks, offering almost a story where there are highs and lows. Crumer was/is the guitarist from facedowninshit, who had a great debut album, a pretty good followup, but then put out a lackluster album once they got signed to Relapse.
I think of two (mostly) separate things when discussing “noise”. The first is the Metal Machine Music/Merzbow/Bastard Noise style of squealing, jarring, head crushing atonal screeching and feedback with no apparent structure.
I also think of stuff like Lustmord, Throbbing Gristle and (some) Boyd Rice/Non stuff which is more ambient and sample heavy but is far from what would be perceived as normal music.
This dude sounds more like the latter than the former. I’m curious to hear it.
It’s definitely a lot closer to the former.
No, I have not tried it yet. Tonight, more than likely.
Definitely more like Merzbow with more ambient parts or Prurient after drinking a Redbull versus “Industrial” stuff like TG or Come/Susan Lawly stuff. This was released on Hospital and totally flew under my radar until I saw it posted on a blog a few weeks ago.