"Ignorance is bliss": a proverb followed by many, and particularly critics, and even more so in the case of Canadian skronk mongers AIDS Wolf. The release of the once-quartet, now-trio's debut Lovvers LP elicited chatter, albeit largely negative. These writers have appropriately evidenced this, too: AIDS Wolf cater to a niche market, residing between listeners itching to hear dual-guitar cacophony akin to Arab on Radar and a noise-loving audience unfamiliar with AoR. For that, their two following efforts were glossed over despite possible renovations, and their fourth, Ma vie banale avant-garde, is likely to suffer the same fate, intent on fucking minds for over an hour's breadth.
AIDS Wolf appear more intent to polarize their audience this time around, to a degree that it may play the role of the Ma vie banale avant-garde's theme. The French title translates to "my boring avant-garde life," seemingly poking fun at the growing prevalence-- and perhaps, ubiquity-- of experimental music. AIDS Wolf's sense of cynicism can also be perceived from the disjointed form of their passages. These 24 onslaughts were realized through the trio's reinterpretations of improvised work found on crudely recorded cassettes. The anomaly continues, as AIDS Wolf grant Weasel Walter the task of mastering and take production duties themselves. As mentioned by Lovepump United, the double-LP marks a formative stage for the band.
Despite these alterations to the AIDS Wolf regimen, they've more or less returned to Cities of Glass's overblown and claustrophobic temperament. The album's "single", "Please hold the line" begins with a call-and-response between vocalist Chloe Lum and a pervasive rattling, escalating into an apprehensively queasy guitar and drum workout: it's on this track where Ma vie banale avant-garde stands at its shortest distance from normalcy. On tracks "No Females on Board" and "I've had such an acrid taste in my throat" Lum doesn't howl atop the band's accustomed noise; her execution of muffled monologues over a crackling, roughly textured backdrop brings sound-artist Jessica Rylan and her Can't moniker to mind.
AIDS Wolf exercise the 'noise' end of noise rock to its fullest capabilities, summoning what could be heralded as their most assaulting effort to date. Their incorporation of electronics into the lineup has served for more than just compensation of a guitar, but allows the band to make a slight digression from the somewhat commonplace guitar and drum makeup of their peers. In the face of impromptu jam sessions and sporadic freak-outs, much of the album is partial to a crossroad mindset of suspense and narcosis, equating to overall disorientation. What is shared on Ma vie banale avant-garde isn't desultory; a direction is prevalent, though what that direction leads listeners to is a mystery.
[AIDS Wolf Website]
[Buy Ma vie banale avant-garde from Lovepump United]
they didn't avoid weasel walter too successfully: he mastered the album!
ReplyDeleteAh, thanks for the clarification!
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