textura

Albums
Cory Allen
Belong
Bio / Larkian / Autistes
Black Swan
James Brewster
C.H. District
Crazy Penis
Robert Crouch
Demdike Stare
d'incise
Cezary Gapik
Ron Geesin
G. Night & G. Morning
Tim Hecker
Hole Punch Generation
Hopeless Local M. Band
E. De Jesus / Minus Pilots
Saito Koji
Kontakte
Little Fritter
MaCu
Sam Moss
Dustin O'Halloran
Olekranon
Örsten
Phillips / Hesse-Honegger
Pleq
Maceo Plex
Pietro Riparbelli
Salva
Shaula
Spartak
Daniel Steinberg
Colin Stetson
Subtle Lip Can
Tapage & Meander
Robert Scott Thompson
Ultralyd
Simon Whetham

Compilations / Mixes
DJ Bone
Pop Ambient 2011
Silence Was Warm Vol. 3
Superlongevity 5
v-p v-f is v-n
Werkschau

EPs
Benoit & Sergio
Mark Bradley
Eluvium
Encomiast
Ragle Gumm
Tevo Howard
Isnaj Dui
Clem Leek
Luv Jam
offthesky & Ten and Tracer
Sleeps In Oysters
Nobuto Suda
Totem Test
Morgan Zarate

Ultralyd: Inertiadrome
Rune Grammofon

Sounding like some unholy spawn of Last Exit, King Crimson, Public Image Limited, and Black Sabbath, Ultralyd draws upon the hallowed traditions of no wave, post-punk, free jazz, and metal-edged prog-rock (circa King Crimson's Red ) in Inertiadrome, a forty-one-minute follow-up to its 2009 vinyl-only release Renditions. Like Last Exit, Ultralyd utilizes a sax-guitar-bass-drums set-up with Kjetil Møster, Anders Hana, Kjetil D Brandsdal, and Morten J. Olsen manning the controls in this case. Formed in 2004 (original sax player Frode Gjerstad was replaced by Møster prior to the band's Rune Grammofon debut, Conditions For a Piece of Music), the band eschews conventional soloing for a relentless, single-minded attack that finds the rhythm section as front and center as the saxophonist and guitarist. On its concise new effort, the quartet presents five intrumental fireballs ranging from seven to eleven minutes that are so thunderous they'll leave you awestruck and perhaps even terror-stricken.

Driven by insistent ride cymbal rainshowers and eerie atmospherics, “Lahtuma” kicks into gear when Brandsdal's John Wetton-styled bass appears, its low-slung thrust a fitting partner for Olsen's off-beat snare strikes and the howl of Hana's splintered shards, the nine-minute whole resembling a primal Public Image Limited studio jam with Johnny Rotten AWOL. Olsen and Brandsdal lock solidly into place for the relentless drive of “Street Sex,” with Møster and Hana initially trading shrieks before the guitarist rips the tune to shreds with a barrage of violent assaults that calls to mind Last Exit's Sonny Sharrock on a particularly blistering night. While the corrosive onslaught of Hana and Olsen dominates “Contaminated Man,” Møster supercharges “Geodesic Portico” with his humongous bellow before the guitarist steps forth with a series of shuddering stabs that eventually brings the band to a lacerating boil. Møster's honk likewise jumpstarts “Cessahtlon” but it takes mere moments before the others join the fray, the drummer first and the bassist and guitarist next. On this oft-brutalizing and always-uncompromising set, Ultralyd never lets its aggressive guard down for a moment. Inertiadrome is not for the weak of heart, obviously.

February 2011