TEXTFILES

Extreme Music From Women CD review by Alan at Nettwerk

The title couldn't have been better. Dominant, yes, vicious, yes, raw, yes psychotic, yes, disturbing, yes, hazardous, and yes that too. This is absolutely some of the most brutal and violating material I've heard in quite some. This is definitely something everyone should endure and listen to at least once in their lifetime, but you just may not make it through, it's that rash. Compiled of sixteen women, who's main focus lies in harsh power electronics and experimentalism. Each artist gives you a look inside their mind and leaves it up to you whether or not you may want to stay.

Rosemary Malign meets us with a heavy dose of pissed-off and vile words that are thrown out among the flammable vacuum rhythms of "no you listen." Lisa & Naomi Tocalty put down disjointed and flanged drones with ravaging shouts that destroy the mic as well. Dolores Dewberry changes pace slightly with darker and more disturbing track that works with drone emissions, nauseating loops and spoken word samples. In some ways it reminds me a little of baal's current sound.

"Schizephrenesis II" from Candi Nook takes on a very radical trip backwards through "the wizard of oz" and many other old films that are treated with various distorted overlays. "Weird" would be an understatement. A disturbing encounter with a four-legged beast from Anabel Lee on "lycanthropy." Warp artist Mira Calix gives us surreal atmospheres that entangle with reversed samples, layered mechanical drones, and subtle eerie string movements. It is not as aggressive as the others, but one of the more nicely composed and introspective tracks on this release.

Utilizing a menagerie of various overlapped phone messages that are attacked with dense waves of witch-like chants and shouts, Clara Clamp disengages you temporarily with "September 4." Which leads into another somewhat pagan track from Debra Petrovich entitled "dislocated" - more minimal, yet haunting, being the longest on this release. Lockweld's Karen Thomas pushes pulsating uncontrolled modulations, spiraling frequencies into our minds, while cold words are spoken in the distance.

Betty Cannery presents a harsh and expressive track entitled "closeted." Somewhat reminiscent of LHD, Gaya Donadio throws down some very layered and charred drones and statics with "indiscretion." "Tattoo" gives us a check into filtered abrasive relays and short-cut samples by Maria Moran. Fri Tost presents a foreboding piece with eerie bleak vocals and recycled haunts. Wendy Van Dusen also gives us a frightening short dark ambient piece entitled "dog." Which leads us into another very experimental and frigid track "mindimi trek" by Cat Hope. Ending these assaults, Diane Nelson presents two tracks with very chaotic and haunting twisted loops and feminine howls.

Enjoy this at least once while you may, because this release shows you a world of musicians that you have never experience before, that is for certain. Not something I can tolerate every day or work to easily, but if you are looking for something different, this would be it. Be careful though.

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