Poltergeists is a biweekly feature in which Michael and Wes select tracks that they have had on repeat over the past two weeks.
Michael
hologram_ - “Parasite / Paradox / Paralysis”
Hologram_ is a great band that kind of appeared out of the Ant-Zen/Audiotrauma camp earlier this year and to be honest I give everything on those labels a listen almost right away. There is a good chance that it will be something for me. Hologram_ was no exception - Parasite / Paradox / Paralysis is a track that hits me particularly hard in that make-me-move-place. I really enjoy the layers of this track and the way it builds from a pretty stable noise-y dance beat into a really fun song to dance to - especially in the later half, which I would consider the Paradox region of the song.
100blumen - “la fin absolue du monde”
Guess what!? Another goddamn Ant-Zen song that I love! this one is from a few years ago, but it is still a song that I put on every once and awhile and love. A bit more somber than my first choice (above,) but I really love the mood of this song. It builds so well from a very ambient spoken word atmosphere to a noise driven paradise of rich toms and glitches. It is a song that I really don’t mind waiting 2 minutes for it to kick in to the rhythm section. Do yourself a favor and give it a full listen, close your eyes, and turn it up really loud on your crappy computer speakers - lose yourself in it’s somber ambient happiness. (La Fin Absolue du Monde = “The Absolute End of the World”)
Wes
Fraunhofer Diffraction - “Asphyxia”
Fraunhofer Diffraction is a project out of Moscow that bends towards witch house, if that’s a thing that’s still useful to say anymore. By blending big saw pads, hip-hop style beats built from 808s with heavy reverb, and pitched up and dragged out vocal samples “Asphyxia” hits all the things that I loved about early witch house in an effective way; it doesn’t feel played out or affected, rather, the style is embraced to its fullest. The beat is heavy and brooding, and invokes images of foggy clubs with manic strobes, while the samples are ethereal, lifting the songs mood only to be cut down by stabbing synth lines.
Myrkur - “Nattens Barn”
The more of this black metal stuff I listen to the more I want to listen to it. This particular release is from Danish solo artist Myrkur, and the amount that this woman puts together as a solo project is amazing. The track starts out with choral vocals, which fade into a blast of drums and shredding guitars. The woman we just heard harmonizing with herself then comes in growling and screaming, and every single aspect of the instrumentation. It’s one thing to be really good at one instrument and alright at a bunch of others - I think many musicians in guitar driven bands end up becoming at least mediocre multi-instrumentalists out of necessity - but to be able to sing in the manner Myrkur does, as well as scream, shred on the guitars, and play precise, well timed drum lines is an insane feat. The entire album is worth multiple listens.