Sunday, February 20, 2005

Guilty Connector : "Cosmic Trigger / 2AM Visit"




Guilty Connector's Ground Fault CD is a new collection of tracks, some previously released in miniscule editions, others brand new. Some live, some studio, mostly solo and one in collaboration with Sudden Infant. The G.C. sound is fast-paced dynamic harsh noise full of sudden stops and rapid fire sonic explosions, which, in combination with G.C.'s penchant for Motorhead/Venom-style heavy metal imagery adds up to a very exuberant hard-rocking whole. There is some of that on here to be sure but there are also field recordings, strange low-volume scraping passages, and intrusions of unexpected calm. So basically this is some sort of hardcore electroacoustic music not afraid to overwhelm the listener with volume but also not afraid to pull back into near-silence and even some moments of dainty beauty. And then add some rock'and'roll touches like the sounds of "drunk and crazy noise fans" on a live track, and G.C.'s own (presumably) singalong on the track that originally appeared on an Abba tribute compilation. The CD is divided into two sides as indicated by the title, and one gets the feeling G.C. would have prefered this release to be a vinyl album. With a thick foldout cover. My favorite piece might be the last- sound quality is clear and powerful, the mixing precise and swift-moving, from hard-panned bursts to stretched out reverbed walls of rushing high-pitched frequencies to crackling bass distortion.

Released by Ground Fault Recordings

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