HR126 - Blowhole - In Asylum Wait/Big Joey & the Knobs split - C60 — 1989
SIDE A: BLOWHOLE: IN ASYLUM WAIT
INTRO DUAL SINGE IN ASYLUM WAIT 1 BALLS OUT BELLS TOGETHER ASYLUM DUB PINCH ROLLER JIM PLY RIGHT LIFE IN ASYLUM WAIT 2 |
SIDE B: BIG JOEY & THE KNOBS
HE & SHE & I FREE UP WINCE NEW PHYSICS SWEDE IN MOTION BALBOA CHESTER TRANC |
REVIEW by Jerry Kranitz
What ties the two bands on this split tape together is the presence of Colorado based Jeph Jerman in both.
Side A features Blowhole. On this tape the lineup consists of Jeph Jerman, Dave Montgomery, and Darren Soule. The music exists about mid-point on the noise-rock/free-jazz axis. Imagine a mishmash of early 80s New York ‘Downtown’ avant-rock, Ascension era Coltrane, Derek Bailey, sound experimentation/exploration, and punk.
The fun begins with pure noise-rock-jazz cacophony, replete with ripping, atonal guitar leads, bashing chords, and skronking horns. I love the balance between brain-crushing noise and creatively competent musicianship during the heavy rocking jam parts. We’re also treated to intensely edgy passages that cross noise-ambience with free-jazz drift. Adding to the fun is some good old experimental tape manipulation, especially what sounds like sandpapered looped bits combined with interstellar free-jazz chaos. Another part I love is the relatively sedate bass, drums, and tinkling keys jam which is interrupted by blasts from the chainsaw blazing guitar. There are horn solos that will pierce your eardrums, and free-wheeling percussion that sounds like a cavern performance. Wild and crazy stuff!
Side B belongs to Big Joey & The Knobs. On this tape the band are the trio of Jeph Jerman, George Ericson, and Dave Montgomery.
An over-simplified description of the music might be Blowhole without the free-jazz elements. The set kicks off with dark, droney, yet potently propulsive rock. The drums are a slowly commanding blend of martial and tribal feel. The bass plods along menacingly and the guitar sounds dissonantly angular as it strums away. Soon the band go full on rhythm akimbo, rocking and thrashing with drums flailing and guitars hacking wildly. But there are also lots of eerie atmospheric sequences that sound like a volcano building up to catastrophic eruption, culminating in what sounds like Captain Beefheart going steroidal noise-thrash-rock. I love the constantly twisting and turning mood, rhythm, and heavy rock vs. ambient shifts. A super intense blend of avant-rock, sound exploration, and bits of tape collage work.
What ties the two bands on this split tape together is the presence of Colorado based Jeph Jerman in both.
Side A features Blowhole. On this tape the lineup consists of Jeph Jerman, Dave Montgomery, and Darren Soule. The music exists about mid-point on the noise-rock/free-jazz axis. Imagine a mishmash of early 80s New York ‘Downtown’ avant-rock, Ascension era Coltrane, Derek Bailey, sound experimentation/exploration, and punk.
The fun begins with pure noise-rock-jazz cacophony, replete with ripping, atonal guitar leads, bashing chords, and skronking horns. I love the balance between brain-crushing noise and creatively competent musicianship during the heavy rocking jam parts. We’re also treated to intensely edgy passages that cross noise-ambience with free-jazz drift. Adding to the fun is some good old experimental tape manipulation, especially what sounds like sandpapered looped bits combined with interstellar free-jazz chaos. Another part I love is the relatively sedate bass, drums, and tinkling keys jam which is interrupted by blasts from the chainsaw blazing guitar. There are horn solos that will pierce your eardrums, and free-wheeling percussion that sounds like a cavern performance. Wild and crazy stuff!
Side B belongs to Big Joey & The Knobs. On this tape the band are the trio of Jeph Jerman, George Ericson, and Dave Montgomery.
An over-simplified description of the music might be Blowhole without the free-jazz elements. The set kicks off with dark, droney, yet potently propulsive rock. The drums are a slowly commanding blend of martial and tribal feel. The bass plods along menacingly and the guitar sounds dissonantly angular as it strums away. Soon the band go full on rhythm akimbo, rocking and thrashing with drums flailing and guitars hacking wildly. But there are also lots of eerie atmospheric sequences that sound like a volcano building up to catastrophic eruption, culminating in what sounds like Captain Beefheart going steroidal noise-thrash-rock. I love the constantly twisting and turning mood, rhythm, and heavy rock vs. ambient shifts. A super intense blend of avant-rock, sound exploration, and bits of tape collage work.