YoshimiO, Susie Ibarra & Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - Flower of Sulphur (Thrill Jockey, 2018)

Thought this was an intriguing meeting of the minds. YoshimiO of the Boredoms, OOIOO, etc. Susie Ibarra, percussionist of great Downtown NYC imrpov scene fame. And Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe of Lichens and increasingly making a name for himself under, well, his own name. This is a live improvisational set chopped up into 4 sidelong pieces. As you might expect from having two percussionists it's fairly drum-heavy. Lowe contributes some garbled vocals that don't sound at all unlike what you might hear from Eye of the Boredoms lending the set a temporarily nostalgic vibe. The proceedings throughout are very spacious, relatively slow-moving. Lots of ideas are entertaining (there's a whole host of instruments - acoustic and electronic - in play throughout that I won't even try to place) and nobody seems to want to step on anyone's toes. Maybe a little too respectful although lots of active listening going on and corresponding engagement. At times the group lock into a groove and Lowe's vocals combine to put this thing in the Supersilent stratosphere but those moments are too fleeting. The set as a whole didn't do much for me. They let loose a little on the final passage but overall I was hoping for a little more jam from these 3 titans.

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Nachtmystium/Leviathan - In the Valley of Death, Where Black Metal is King: An Homage to the Roots (Ascension Monuments Media, 2018)

What the fuck is that title. Okay I get the first part is a Judas Iscariot tribute, but did we really need "an homage to the roots" in there? Hey wouldn't it be funny if these were actually covers of the band The Roots? Anyway. This album was supposed to come out 10 years ago, but it was blocked by the bands' respective labels. Now I guess they've figured out a way, or Blake Judd needs money for drugs so he's figured out a way, to put this out. The Bandcamp version has 8 tracks, 5 from Nachtmystium and 3 from Leviathan, but I've seen a 10-track tracklisting elsewhere. On the version I have, we have Nachtmystium covering Judas Iscariot, Ildjarn (twice), Von and Burzum. Leviathan tackles Ildjarn (twice) and Von once. I seem to be missing Leviathan's Judas Iscariot cover ("Where the Winter Beats Incessant") and one of Nachtmystium's Von covers ("Von"). Weird. Wonder if there were some licensing issues or something. All four Ildjar...

Isserley - Cutest Girls Suicide Cult (Tigersquawk, 2018)

Again - no real recollection of how this one ended up in my wishlist. I keep tabs on some witchhouse stuff and I guess I heard of Isserley somewhere...then again maybe it's the rad album title and kool art that pulled me in. Isserley is the "self proclaimed saddest girl in Australia" and these are kind of witchy beats, although more distorted and noise-y than is typical...of which I approve...but overall the album (it's more like an EP) didn't do much for me. Apparently a lot of these trax are culled from previous Isserley projects and given makeovers. Good to know! But not my bag.

Corrupted - Felicific Algorithim (Cold Spring, 2018)

For whatever it means, this is the beginning of Corrupted's "Hollow" series. Maybe the clue is in the music? Unlike Corrupted's traditional ultra-slowed down, Spanish-sung, Japanese doom metal this is instrumental harsh noise. Still filthy and angry and depressive but sans vox and also more or less sans metal. Both untitled sides are meant to be played at either speed. The result? Meh. I miss Corrupted's brand of doom, this relatively anonymous harsh noise is fine and all but if I'm listening to Corrupted...well I know what I want. Skippable.

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