The Goslings
"Between The Dead" CDR
Self-released
Genre: experimental, noise, drone
June 2006 |
The Goslings have been making quite a name
for themselves on the underground noise / experimental scene and
Between The Dead is their latest self-released testament to that.
With releases out on Crucial Blast, XDEY, and Hand/Eye, and planned
for Brise-Cul and aRCHIVE, their discography is beginning to look
something like a who's who of the DIY world. They've put this one out
on their own, though, and it's yet another chapter in the trio's
legacy. These folks have crafted out a little
niche for themselves by combining immense layers of guitar feedback
with creepily unintelligible "vocals" and resonating percussion. The
formula is rarely melodic in the common sense of the word, but moments of surprising tunefulness can
come out in the mix; the massive climax of "Brindle" is a fine
example, with its warped, faraway melody resonating from deep within
its echoing halls of core-rumbling sound.
Aside from a basic description of what they do, it's difficult to
define The Goslings' musical style - though many have tried.
Sludge is a common term due to the dark, pulsating guitar that drags
the listener on (think Sunn 0))) and that ilk), but the music's
fuzziness and the female vocals lends themselves more to a dream-pop
act of some sort. It can be tough to get into this album if you aren't
already into the more noisy edge of things as it is; a ten minute epic
like "Seed" makes no apologies for its grim, gradual progression,
though if you let yourself enjoy it there's no denying the power in
its steadily building and deteriorating drone and feedback onslaught.
"Yellow Sky," meanwhile, branches itself out from a constant tone,
going through as many phases as one would care to count. Other shorter
tracks run the gamut from warped pseudo-rock music ("Flowerpot") to
sparse incidental sound ("Morning Jewel").
Overall, this is The Goslings in all
their glory, and it's perhaps their most (strangely) accessible and
varied release yet. I like this even better than Spaceheater
and Perfect Interior, and that's saying quite a bit.
MP3s (from geocities.com/the_goslings):
Brindle,
Dehlilahia,
Seed
86%
Fun Fact: The album's
second song, "Brindle," could refer to a type of dog coat or a small
village in Lancashire, England.
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 8 tracks, distributed by
the
band,
released 2005] |
