Dan Fox poses the question, "If Imitation Is the Highest Form Of Flattery, What Is It When I Try to Recreate My Own Past Performance?" For those unfamiliar with Fox or his label, Inner Demons, he records under a host of names, most notably Loss and Fail. But let's get to the heart of the matter and answer his question, shall we? It's pretty impressive and makes me wish that he wasn't on the other side of the continent so I could actually see this up close and personal.

This release consists of one 18.5 minute track. Fox manages to create a constantly shifting kaleidoscope of sound. There is a lot going on, but Fox gives the different parts time to breathe and meld together beautifully. There is a constant undercurrent of drone, but this is not harsh noise wall. In fact, I would say that it isn't really all that harsh. Noisy, yes, but the overall effect is hypnotic and quite pleasant. As it slowly unravels at the end, you get the sense that the intention is to end gently, rather than blast you with noise.

Overall, this is one of the best things I have heard from Fail, and it's a free download, so you really have absolutely nothing to lose. Add this to your collection. This disc weighs in at just over 18 minutes.

I did not know much about James Nathan Powell, but he hails from Hot Springs Arkansas and describes his work as “Small handmade noise/hnw/loud stuff & pretty stuff.“ Well, if there is one thing that I enjoy, it’s small batch artisinal noise, so let’s dive in and see what recipe Powell has in store for us.

This album consists of nine tracks titled only with Roman numerals. We start off with a very short (42 seconds) dose of extra crunchy noise that gives us a taste of what we are in for. Track II is more static-filled, harsh, stuttering noise that shifts gears with bits of junk noise and some heavily distorted voice. If you've ever wondered what it sounds like to ride in a dryer with a bunch of scrap metal, Powell has you covered. This is not to say that it is all in your face noise. III and VII are both a bit more subdued crackling noise with a helping of static on the side, in the case of VII. But Powell also knows how to let loose, and tracks like VI are completely overdriven to the point of destruction. At the end, IX completely changes registers and offers up a short piano piece with a lot of background hiss and what sounds like cicadas. This is not harsh, but it is an intense, simple composition that provides a nice juxtaposition with the previous harshness.

If you like your noise extra crunchy, this is well worth checking out. It's the kind of stuff that lets your mind wander, which I enjoy considerably. Well worth picking up. This album weighs in at around 22 minutes and is limited to 42 copies.

Totakeke is the work of Frank Mokros who hails from New York and records under a host of other names, including Ativ, which had a disc on Inner Demons and Synth-Etik, who released several albums on Hands and Frozen Empire Media (now there's a blast from the past). I really enjoyed Ativ's disc "From Now On," so I was interested to see how this project differed. Let's dive in and see what we have here.

This is one track titled "Subjects of Assimilated Consciousness Vol. 1," but it is broken up into three movements. The first, "Reshapable" is some interesting heavily layered ambient soundscape. But just when you're ready to sink into it, it shifts gears significantly with "In My Image, But Not Me," which is a techno-industrial beat-driven number with an interlude of heavily processed vocals. You could put this in your next DJ rotation and it would fit right in. "Staying Completely Within" shifts gears once again with some spacey, dissonant drone before kicking in with some distorted vocals and a beat over a sparse synth line.

Overall, this is well constructed music that does a good job of showcasing Mokros' versatility as an artist. The three movements fit well together and nothing seems out of place. Well worth picking up if you like rhythmic noise. Now we'll have to wait and see what volume 2 has in store for us. This album weighs in at around 21 minutes and is limited to 42 copies.

CrAwE is the work of one Adam Colman, who hails from Norwich, UK and describes his music as “Solo Improv Dark Ambient Guitar Soundscape Dronez with occasional contributions, the sound of the impending apocalypse and fridge buzz.” With a name like “TogetherWeSashayThroughVariationsOfHell,” this seems like a fabulous ride into the apocalypse, so let’s dive in and see what variations of hell we have here.

We kick it off with „MoodHoover,“ which is spacey dark ambient with a simple melody buried beneath the heavy bass drone. Thru to form, this formula keeps going in various combinations throughout the rest of the disc. There are slight differences throughout, of course. In „WorryIsAMisuseOfImagination,“ the melody is a bit more involved from a compositional standpoint, while in others, such as „TheWitchOfStMarysLeg,“ the drone takes center stange and the melody is much more understated and buried in the mix only to resurface occasionally. Some are almost soothing, such as „BeWatchmenInTheseEndTimes,“ where others, such as „IfYouRepeatALieEnoughItBecomesPolitics“ is much darker and heavier. For me the best track on the disc was „Winterton-On-SeaBeach,“ which keeps the drone going, but with but a bit more of a grinding feel with some static creeping in. This is not really noisy, though, and one can productively think of it as adding a sense of texture to the composition.

Overall, this is a solid introduction to CrAwE’s work and if you like heavy drone this will cetainly be anything but a variation of hell. Well worth picking up. Unlike Inner Demon’s typical fare, this is a full length CD, and weighs in at around 57 minutes. However, like most Inner Demons discs, this is limited to 42 copies, so you’ll want to get this before it is gone.

I did not know anything about Fencepost before this showed up in my mailbox. The only thing I could find is that they hail from the UK and have a whole lot of aliases according to Discogs. I am not much of a fan of serial killers, so I have not seen the movie on which this is based. This set was created as an alternative score to the film "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer." The notes state that "All sounds have been produced utilising various preparations of piano strings which have then been processed through various effects units and recorded live." Sounds interesting, so let's see what we have here.

If Fencepost was going for maximum creepiness, they nailed it. Scraping strings and pummeling beats that give the listener a sense of suspense. What I truly appreciate is that Fencepost does not take the easy way out. There are no screams or any cheap effects like this to drive it home. These are serious compositions that are crafted to tell a story through tones and tempo. There is a repetitiveness that simultaneously gives the compositions a sense of continuity while providing a sense of uneasiness. On the other hand, I did find that the repetition was a bit much, but perhaps this is intentional. Moreover, when your main instrument is an Amyl 1913 upright piano that they have prepared, you are limited, despite any effects you may put on it (they ran everything through a Behringer MINIFX, Kaoss Pad Mini, Kaoss Pad 2, and a Korg PRX4).

Overall, this is extraordinarily well put together as a film score and works well for its desired end. And you don't even have to like serial killers to enjoy it. This disc weighs in at around 41 minutes and is limited to 42 copies.