Murder License

apan's Xinlisupreme took Fat-Cat and the world by jarring, electrical storm with their initial singles and the Tomorrow Never Comes full-length. But the noise experimentalists return before anyone could run for cover, dropping the mini-album Murder License through Fat-Cat's "Splinter Series" CD arm. Tomorrow was defined by juxtaposition, flawlessly playing delicate relent off strobe-lit explosions hardwired to the eyelids. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Murder makes mincemeat of such subtleties. While there are fleeting moments of respite, it is an album preoccupied with frightening, crashing, unending noise -- the sound of industrial culture cannibalizing itself. "I Drew a Picture of My Eyes," "Sakae," "Front of You" -- these pieces build from thrumming basslines to staccato .50-caliber percussion drops, and the forlorn, fatalistic mutterings of humans being eaten by iron smelters. The opening title track is similarly distorted; however, it layers a wayward, keening synth over the chaos, suggesting the Cure's "Just Like Heaven" played backward by berserkers. Later, "I.T.D.O.O.M." discovers a lonely, flute-like instrument wallowing in a world of breezy, grimy manhole covers. The instrument repeats its simple scale as sickly sweet air swirls through sluiceways, and it's calming, to a degree. Still, it's clear the bone-shattering aural grime of Murder's more crippling material is never far away. The album closes with "Count Down," a flawless blend of its two extremes. Fractured beats scatter like cicadas unleashed over a pounding industrial rhythm. Somewhere a melody develops, down beneath the blast doors and corrugated grating. But the machines eventually, finally burn through, silencing Murder License in peels and tears of charred shrapnel. ~ Johnny Loftus|

Japan's Xinlisupreme took Fat-Cat and the world by jarring, electrical storm with their initial singles and the Tomorrow Never Comes full-length. But the noise experimentalists return before anyone could run for cover, dropping the mini-album Murder License through Fat-Cat's "Splinter Series" CD arm. Tomorrow was defined by juxtaposition, flawlessly playing delicate relent off strobe-lit explosions hardwired to the eyelids. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Murder makes mincemeat of such subtleties. While there are fleeting moments of respite, it is an album preoccupied with frightening, crashing, unending noise -- the sound of industrial culture cannibalizing itself. "I Drew a Picture of My Eyes," "Sakae," "Front of You" -- these pieces build from thrumming basslines to staccato .50-caliber percussion drops, and the forlorn, fatalistic mutterings of humans being eaten by iron smelters. The opening title track is similarly distorted; however, it layers a wayward, keening synth over the chaos, suggesting the Cure's "Just Like Heaven" played backward by berserkers. Later, "I.T.D.O.O.M." discovers a lonely, flute-like instrument wallowing in a world of breezy, grimy manhole covers. The instrument repeats its simple scale as sickly sweet air swirls through sluiceways, and it's calming, to a degree. Still, it's clear the bone-shattering aural grime of Murder's more crippling material is never far away. The album closes with "Count Down," a flawless blend of its two extremes. Fractured beats scatter like cicadas unleashed over a pounding industrial rhythm. Somewhere a melody develops, down beneath the blast doors and corrugated grating. But the machines eventually, finally burn through, silencing Murder License in peels and tears of charred shrapnel. ~ Johnny Loftus

これはスーサイド化したアモン・デュールか?　はたまた凶暴な幼児の即興演奏会を近所のオジサン（鉄工場勤務）が思いつきでミックスしたものか?　とにかく全楽器／全音塊の歪みっぷりが尋常ではない!　原始的で電子的、野蛮でアヴァン。ピュアな毒気がジュルっと滲み出た、エレクトロ・ジャングル極北点。アンディ・ウェザオール激賞という勲章まで付いて、実は純正日本人3人組だっていうんだから、頼もしいねぇ!!
bounce (C)北爪啓之