seven

Every once in a while a release comes along that just floors you with its sheer brilliance and power. If LeftHandedDecision's new album "Instinct & Emotion" doesn't fall into this category, then I don't know what does.

Quite simply, this album is one of the best noise releases I've ever heard. Unrelenting, merciless, and unsettling, "Instinct & Emotion" beats you into submission and leaves every inch of ground it covers bloody and mutilated. Roaring, maxed-out walls of noise and static bludgeon the ears over a mass of squirming low frequencies and severely distorted loops and samples. Together, it forms a nasty and corrosive noise stew that demands your utmost attention for every second. Really, this text can't do the album the justice it fully deserves, as the amazing density and depth of these tracks has to be heard to be believed. The amount of stuff going on beneath the surface is just phenomenal, as all kinds of frequencies and loops crash against each other and come in and out of the mix. Credit here must be given to the mastering magic of Phil Easter at Malignant Sound Technologies, for managing to make this CD both immensely loud and crystal clear, yet not at the expense of sacrificing all the wonderful nuances of the music.

There is not a single bad, or even mediocre track on this album. And each has something different to set it apart, whether the occasional use of an almost beat-driven undercurrent, or the use of drawn out and layered droning static. From the epic 37 min+ "Isopraxism" to the just over 30 sec. "Brief Vision," each track on the album offers its own unique descent into hell. The untitled track at the end certainly warrants mention, however, for its unusualness, as bursts of noise attack over a severely distorted song that sounds like some alternarock anthem from MTV. This is then followed by even more weirdness, including what I think is a distorted MC Hammer sample! Yes, folks, MC Hammer and noise…

LHD's "Instinct & Emotion" is a milestone in experimental music and not to be missed. If you even consider yourself a fan of noise/power electronics/experimental music then you must buy this disc. Definitely one of THE releases for this year.