Merzbild Schwet

Nurse With Wound began as a trio, but by Merzbild Schwet, its third album, Steve Stapleton's singular vision took over, with no compromises to other band members. As such it can be considered the first fully realized N.W.W. record and is a far more mature effort than its predecessors, much more focused and sounding less like some stoned guys goofing off in the studio. Stapleton's editing techniques come to the fore, with abrupt transitions, quirky juxtapositions, and lots of strange sounds that would become the hallmark of future N.W.W. releases, even as one album might drastically diverge from the next. The first track (or first side of the original LP), "Futurismo" begins with clanking rhythms, record skip clicks, and horn riffs before veering off into a crazed quilt of women singing, laughing, and talking in French. About halfway through, wild screeches of distortion disrupt the piece, and then more bizarre sounds take over before the piece ends with a collage of over-modulated electronic hum and rambling piano. The other cut, "Dada X," goes further into weirdness with lots of silences, creepy creaking noises, tones that build up and collapse, and scattered spoken word in French and English from Eve Libertine from the political punk band Crass, and the piece certainly lives up to the Dada of its title. ~ Rolf Semprebon