ANTENNACLE

This is Noiseweek's first anniversary, so it's break time - no retro entry this month, and just a quick entry this week concerning Antennacle, a cross-country, mail/internet-working noise trio that includes Eric Wood from the Bastard groups (Man is the Bastard, Bastard Noise, etc.). The band's concept is to deal with sound as part of physical spaces, local or spread out, which I'm not sure I get but I'm definitely intrigued by, so I ordered their three-track Murmur Suite EP from Kitty Play back in March, and after a delightful series of excuse-laden e-mails, finally got it this week (Mr. Play made up for it by sending me a ton of stuff, so no hard feelings, though I'd recommend allowing yourself a six-month lead time and a big sense of humor when ordering from him). I haven't fully digested it all and have to admit I'm not immediately hot on Parts One and Three (both are a little too subdued and kind of inactively repetitive, but I'm guessing I might warm to their cold, stoic approach eventually), but I'm definitely sold on Part Two. Here Antennacle's chilly, quiet drones and filtered beds of hiss morph and evolve much more eventfully, gaining jagged edges and abrasive textures as they slowly multiply and ascend. The solid tonal parts remind me of Mikroknytes (second week in a row!) and the harsher sections aren't too far from Tony Conrad's ear-blastings on Fantastic Glissando, while the clicks and robotic choppiness, especially in the eerie, barren ending stretch, lends the track an Oval-esque inhumanness. I hope Antennacle sticks around - I have no idea if they'll get better/wider/deeper/etc, but I'm definitely interested in finding out if they do...

mp3:
ANTENNACLE - Part 2 from Murmur Suite