This review has been a few weeks coming.
Noise Research Institute, the latest project from Spike Vincent, longtime fiend and all-around perpetrator of crimes against humanity, makes no subtle entry with this initial effort, Domestic Nuclear Shelters. The album opens with the inconspicuous grace of a drunken football hooligan, likewise blasting eardrums and expectations without apology or concern. It is an abuse of sound, depraved and vile; like an electric razor chewing through Fabergé eggs. An abuse so far beyond the pale that it daunts all but the initiated: who are sure to revel in the debasement and affront to common decency.
The appropriate mood established, the album navigates through familiar noise territory as if guided by some preternatural force, sweeping through rumbling lows and piercing highs. Tortured organic wails wash walls of crashing sound against electronic backdrops both soothingly harsh and brutally serene. Massive, monolithic towers of sheer noise rise precariously above the fray, threatening to topple under the weight of their aural might, burying the listener in an avalanche of atonal rubble. Just as the Good Lord™ intended.
Perhaps the most impressive feat of this release is in its depth. Many newcomers launch themselves into the genre with little appreciation of its subtleties and little understanding of how noise can, and should, carry emotional weight; how it evolves both sonically and symbolically. Though lacking in some of the detail that more seasoned artists may have applied, the album has a solid foundation and demonstrates a firm grasp of the fundamentals that define the style.
Domestic Nuclear Shelters is proof positive that an old dog can learn new tricks. And I hope to be around to hear a few more of these new tricks.
[Rating:4/5]
Cheers, Spike.
Post Script: I really need a proof reader.
