Scissor Shock - Psychic Existentialism (For Noise's Sake, 2010)

Tweet

As of late, I've been asking my self a question more often than usual, the question in case being, "Why do I do what I do?" Though this dilemma can often be huge and painful, it's actually a pretty simple thing to face, almost everyone does in their lifetime, and it can lead to a rewarding answer. Another difficult life question to face is "Can my cat hear my thoughts?" Fortunately Columbus, Indiana's Scissor Shock can answer both of those in just over a half-hour with a disc entitled Psychic Existentialism. Psychic Existentialism will take you down a road of grinding, pulsing guitar, ethereal throbbing vocals, dark and creepy synthesizers, and an ominous fear of knowledge.

Scissor Shock main-man Adam Cooley says that Scissor Shock is a one-man project that he's been working on for years, and some of the sounds in the title track are actually two years old. Psychic Existentialism really has a feel for composition, which is what makes it great since at first glance it can sound very cramped and purposefully discordant. But when you really get into the music, you'll find it's a mind-warping tessarect of many MANY instruments being played all very well, in a simultaneous fashion. That's really what makes it so great, at some points you can imagine a walk through a dark forest, when suddenly it sounds like a CD of the Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Soundtrack rapidly skipping. If the first rule of Fight Club is not to talk about Fight Club, then the first rule of Psychic Existentialism has got to be not to think too hard during Psychic Existentialism.

This album was released in a CD-R edition of 50 by the excellent Spanish label For Noise's Sake, but is sadly out of print. The album, however, has been put online for free streaming and download. One day, in the not so distant future, you'll take your son or daughter to their first concert and the opening act will sound just like this-- real talk.

[Scissor Shock Myspace]
[Download Psychic Existentialism from Archive.org]

edit: Psychic Existentialism is still available from the label, For Noise's Sake. [Buy it here]