New Spins: 5th July 2021

This is New Spins, my fortnightly review of three of the best new releases I've been listening to recently from across all genres and styles.

Gaffa Ghandi - Artificial Disgust // Exile On Mainstream

We have a weird adage in the UK that Germans don't have a sense of humour, and while there may be a level of seriousness to their cultural personality, that isn't mutually exclusive with comedy. Such is proven by Gaffa Ghandi, a heavy instrumental prog four piece based out of Berlin and Dresden. As you can probably tell by that cover image, and song titles like Symphony Of Swag, their seriousness doesn't stretch too far beyond the music. You can clearly hear the influence of Mastodon, but also of Neurosis, The Sword, Pallbearer, Elder and many other progressive bands whose basis lies in doom and sludge metal. Gaffa Ghandi manage to fill the vocal void with enough instrumentation and melody to prevent these tracks feeling incomplete, something which not all instrumental bands achieve. Whatsmore, there is a real sense of fun about this record, not just from the imagery and song titles, but from the way in which they bound from riff to riff and melody to melody in a way which feels completely free and organic. Artificial Disgust feels like music from the soul, crafted by four excellent musicians who are clearly very in tune with each other.

Listen and purchase on Bandcamp

Pharos - Devoid Of Light Within // Rum Fixion Records

With a title like Devoid Of Light Within, it's unsurprising that Pharos latest output is depressively dark and moody. However, far from being a simple piece of atmospheric drone, Devoid Of Light Within brings forth some of the most brutal and harsh elements from noise music. This adds a completely different tone to the pitch black atmospherics that lie at it's base, and across the two tracks that make up this record there are only brief moments to catch a breath. The first track Zero Lumens is suffocating in it's relentlessness, but it never quite reaches the total oblivion of a harsh noise wall, though it does come close; there is always something we can find that glimmers amongst the chaos. The second track Infinite Lumens has a more melodic structure, but within this there is still a punishing layer of noise that threatens to overwhelm everything. It's kept in check by the beautiful synths that stretch themselves across the track, and the the balance between these two elements feels both isolated and perfectly harmonious.

Listen and purchase on Bandcamp

Uncle Grasha's Flying Circus - Ost // Various labels (see bandcamp details)

Uncle Grasha's Flying Circus is another project from Willhelm Grasslich of Blind Ruler Cursed Land, whose album Chrysantheme Delirium I enjoyed immensely. Uncle Grasha's Flying Circus has some similarities in it's use of atmospheric samples, but while the oriental tone of Chrysantheme Delirium balanced with the Japanese war themes, Ost delves into the atmosphere of the Cold War era Eastern Bloc, and in doing so strikes a tone that is both formidable and mysterious. On almost every track there are waves of vivid distorted drones that surround the aural space, smothering the noise and melody in a thick, rumbling sonic fluid. Interspersing and overlaying this are samples and sounds that aim to disorientate, while whispered voices of aggression seek to intimidate you into submission. There's an abstraction from time that seems to take place as the drones continue on, and it's only on the final track, which begins with a stomping march of overdriven beats and growling vocals, that we're given a stark reminder of temporality.

Listen and purchase on Bandcamp

If you'd like to send me music to listen to for future editions of New Spins then please email your music and some info to wolvesinthedronedoom@gmail.com