Under both the Cheapmachines alias and his own name, England's Phil Julian has been venturing across various strains of unorthodox sound over the past decade or so, with his prolific output encompassing sonic textures that run the gamut from harsh squalls of decaying cacophony to humming spectral tapestries of melodic drone to patiently constructed compositions of hyper-minimalistic timbres. On Transcript, Julian sources tones and reverberation from blank cassettes as well as the actual cassette decks used in this particular process. Allowing the hissing, fuzzy, and clicking mechanics at work in this aural realm to traverse effortlessly across a half hour of ethereal space, Transcript stands as a remarkable work of foreboding and atonal constitution that stands confidently alongside the best works of similarly inclined sound sculptors such as Francisco Lopez and Joe Colley. This is warmly eerie listening that sounds especially exquisite coming from a cassette itself.

Obsolete Units

When last we saw Brooklyn-based bass clarinet/baritone saxophone duo TwistyCat on Obsolete Units, they provided a deeply hypnotic and extremely limited loop cassette showcasing three immaculate minutes of their beautifully stark and patiently composed agglomeration of drone-infused improvisation. Taking noticeable cues from this previous release, Ed Bear and Lea Bertucci erupt on Solar Plexus both with pieces of meticulously realized minimalism as well as more comparatively dissonant waves of contemplative and ominous themes. The first side distinctively adds a veneer of found sound (from radio and elsewhere) to the mix, building upon these unfamiliar modes into a great wash of unrest before giving way to their distinctive command of woodwind-derived subterranean melodicism, whereas the flip presents in explicitly unblemished detail two pieces of slow-burning improvisation where the loops and electronic manipulations wavering in and out of the mix controlled with the utmost subtlety for further bewilderment. Includes special transparent liner-notes.

Obsolete Units

A blistering set of impressively reckless and spastic hardcore, Kyoto, Japan's Whales craft an attack exhibiting forces both distinctively ferocious and ardently uncompromising. Drawing significant influence from numerous legendary purveyors of power-violence (Spazz, Dropdead), the trio shoot through 6 minutes of absurdly accelerated blasts of song before ending this treat with another 6 minutes of the most blistering Incapacitants/MSBR-style walls of noise. The same program runs on both sides, and you'll probably need to listen to both in one-sitting just to catch-up with what you've just heard. Seibutsu Shigen strips bare this expeditious punk template to its most cathartic core; this is no muss, no fuss, and no bullshit. Whales includes on guitar Takahiro Yorifuji, who has released numerous ambient/drone releases as Hakobune on a variety of different labels (Install, Ghetto Naturalist, Tobira).

Obsolete Units

Dan Burke is one of those consistently brilliant, insanely prolific, and unquestionably irreproachable artists that deservedly wears the handle of legend. Since 1983, Burke and his conspirators under the Illusion Of Safety banner have traversed and conquered most every facet of the avant sound plane, from early industrial pop deconstruction to blindingly minimal sound art to densely surreal found-sound collage, each unique approach bending and reconstituting the expectations and possibilities of each realm. This solo performance at the 2008 edition of the infamous No Fun Fest in NYC is one of Burke's most singular missives, melding the patient field drones of past releases like Probe and Water Seeks Its Own Level with the powerfully stark melencholia of 2008′s Sedation & Quell 10″ and In Session CD. Rumbling, nebulous drones collide with pastoral field recordings and various unidentifiable factions of percolatting sound, all guided with ease at Burke's hand.

Obsolete Units

This Brooklyn-based gang of roving synth junkies have established quite the catalog since the release of their first Obsolete Units missive I Swarm With A Thousand Bees. They've expanded to a trio, blown minds with walls of pulsating force both meditative and confrontational around Brooklyn and elsewhere, released a slew of essential recordings on such labels as Prison Tatt, Baked Tapes, and The Comic Beyond, and are further extending their reach to various other vectors and projects throughout the rest of the year. This nearly-lost companion piece to I Swarm With A Thousand Bees, however, reaches back to OPPONENTS as the Slusher-Feinstein duo, a more caustic permutation that nevertheless tossed out the ripe seedlings of what this project would soon become. Ambivalent Cloud Designs rings with the vilest of synth howls giving way to full blown riots of garbled sonic refuse, the electronic exorcisms of mangled vocals become lost in the torrents of circuitry invading the ether. Remastered by Jesse DeRosa of Grasshopper for optimal malevolence.

Obsolete Units

A title-less missive from Italy's Nodolby, the solo personage of Dokuro label mind Michele Scariot, this particular cassette brusquely fortifies two sides of gnawing scrape and sibilation. The four pieces manage to etch a natural approximation of early industrial's rhythmic churn and the mangled feedback fetishization of harsh noise as this quartet of discharges obeys a certain amorphous structure that nevertheless remains unrelenting in its ability to menace. A beautifully conceived album of unbridled disorder.

Obsolete Units

Five distinct pieces of prepared guitar from this veteran erupt impulsively on Polar Shifts, each digging out its own medium in ranges from subliminally minimal silence and sustainment to off-kilter "songs" comparable to the more entracingly sparse and industrial ventures of This Heat. Miller, who's appeared in projects ranging from the infamous Destroy All Monsters to M3 to GKW to Dirty Old Man River, initiates a stark boldness pertaining to his meticulously modified instrument, forgoing easy novelty for a demanding and rousing execution of pleasantly cryptic resonance. An exceptionally obscure venture into immaculate and subtle clamor.

Obsolete Units

Having cut his teeth for a good couple years in Towering Heroic Dudes and furthering expanding his solo chops in various live settings, Paul Haney returns with his second Rust Worship cassette, this one consisting of three live recordings from last year in various locales around the New York area. An improvised concoction of droning atonalities, the performances ebb and flow between something like blown-out sound art, crackling harsh noise, and ominous psychedelia. Arrives at the peaks of heavily dense manipulation of tapes, turntables, electronics, and other forgotten miscellany. An apt representation of Rust Worship's current state-of-affairs.

Obsolete Units