Ducks Battle Satan

There are a couple of reasons why this is a great addition to the Japanese Birds series. For one, it probably has one of my favourite Merzbow tracks of all time. Across the Earth is another big fat slab of Suicide-esque groove. It is simply outstanding and if for no other reason, this track is worth buying the whole record for. It is that good.

I’ve noticed with Merzbow (and I’ve probably posted on it before) that my mood really dictates my response to Merzbow’s work. The first track left me underwhelmed when I first heard it but today at the gym it became something else entirely. Maybe it was because I was in a nice relaxed space mentally because what might at it surface seem like another analogue Merzbow by-the-numbers noise excursion became something far more special and enjoyable as the track progressed. It’s all subtle changes and surprise, kind of the same kick I get from listening to 1930. The last track it probably the least successful – Purple Triangle skirts very close to being generic Merzbow and I’m not sure that is good enough anymore. Still, I think it’s fair to say that none of the records of this series have been universally awesome, even on the great ones there’s always one track that’s a bit weaker than the others. But given the  amount of material he is producing this year I think I can forgive him.

This entry was posted on September 27, 2009 at 9:24 am and is filed under Merzbow, Music, noise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.