Why not review all the PHT material I have sitting around? My last trip home brought 3 new 7" releases back with me, why not give them a spin and write what I think.
PHTV 7"
Collaboration 7" on Rescued From Life Records between PHT and Vacuum, red vinyl. Very well executed packaging, nice thicker textured cream stock with red screen printing.
Side A: Opens with a pretty calm sample before diving in with huge bass drum beats and deep screaming- the bass drum beats approaching static, very reverberated. The beats come and go while still being completely massive and sounding like a shotgun blast at point blank. The vocals make their presence known a bit more. A nice use of silence around the vocals. A short track since it runs at 45 rpm. I'm liking this material a bit more than the other more 'traditional band' approach that PHT sometimes showcases.
Side B: Opens with feedback before jumping into what sounds like a faster punk song, the guitars distortion sounding more like static. The second track has some serious HNW tendencies, drenched with more squeal and squawk feedback. The first track really flows nicely into this one. The feedback fades out briefly before coming back in even stronger. This is a pretty awesome wall, very fast paced and agonizing. The wall fades into the same huge blasts from Side A. The vocals come back, even more angry. Some choppy synth fades in and out along with a little ambience before Side B also finishes.
Overall a really great release, a nice mix of a lot of ideas, and very well executed on all accounts. An interesting listen and highly recommended.
5/5
They Eat What We Eat 7"
My copy is apparently one of 52 with black and red screen print on neon orange cardstock. Black labels on black vinyl. This one spins at 33 rpm, although Side A looks like the track is still pretty short considering the slower speed.
Side A: Opens with drumming in a deep hall type reverb. Some droning synth can be heard in the distance and fades in, very slowly. The drums fade and the volume of the droning (and almost looping) synth takes the kit's place. A deep rumbling bass-line and the drums return- the synth hitting two notes synonymous with the beat. Static comes and goes with the beat as well- and vocals can be heard, very burried under everything, but still there. It seems like some guitar comes in to. A slow jam that can get your head nodding. I enjoy the bass' dominance over the track, it sounds powerful and the hook that is repeated is quite rememberable. I'm glad to see this variation on the full band approach.
Side B: Opens up with some higher-pitched droning/ringing, as a deeper synth bathed in reverb pulses in and out. Guitar feedback can be heard in the distance and slowly grows louder. This track is creepy and even slower than side A. There is still a noticeable beat to the track set by the synth pulse. Each layer and instrument becomes entangled in the other, some coming and going, some morphing, some (like the synth beat) staying constant. About mid-way through Side B everything crunches together, the synth pulse turns into a short loop and it seems like the whole mix is going into a distortion pedal before fading out- only for the droning/ringing to return. The loop synth comes back, again still crunchy, a very powerful return. It stays for about 10 seconds before the track abruptly fades to nothing.
Again, it seems to be another well thought out release. The reoccurring elements are a nice touch and show a level of sophistication while still being creepy as hell.
5/5
PHTEB split 7"
Split 7" with Pig Heart Transplant and the final recordings from The Endless Blockade. Black and red screen print on white thick stock, a nice heavy tri-folding insert envelopes the 7" itself. I'm a big fan of the Feeding Collective's artwork on all of the releases.
Side A/PHT: Opens up with eerie ambience and field recording with a soft gloomy synth drone over top before the drums, guitar and bass kick in. Not too dissimilar from Side A of the They Eat What We Eat 7", but with a less rememberable repeated riff. The vocals are less buried in the mix, and it sounds like the dude from Walls handling vocals, or at least is more apparent than the other 7" that it is in-fact him. A more expansive 6 piece lineup for the duration of this side of the 7", which contrasts from the 3 piece lineup on the 'TEWWE' 7". The vocals remain, a deep synth drone and a pulsing beat, the synth fades leaving the beat which has an echo on it- not too dissimilar from a heartbeat. A snare joins the beat, expanding on its pattern and some ambience also rises before everything suddenly fades.
Side B/TEB: The Endless Blockade side opens with deep low rumblings, oscillator bubbling before the track starts. A slower Blockade track, mighty power chords only broken momentarily with short blasts before going to another equally has heavy riff. I can't help but hear a sense of glory in the chord progression, like a last hoo-rah and final bow. Noise creeps its way in over the track, gaining enough volume to compete with the instrumentation. The vocals are mastered well over both the noise and instruments and aren't lost in the mix at all. The track hits some disharmonic progressions towards the end before fading into scrap metal and Nolan's deep grunts. Glitching synth, distorted beats, and metal cut in and out before scraps and rubble are heard being tossed about in a room. I think this side is a nice showcase of each aspect that TEB had to offer during their existence- heavy power violence, tar-pit sludge laden slow parts, and a nice heap of noise on top for good measure. A definitely pleasing way out.
5/5
Pig Heart Transplant/Juhyo Split 7"
This 7" brings together PHT with Juhyo, a Minnesota based harsh-electronics project featuring the owner and operator of HousePig Records. Silver screenprinted Feeding artwork on black stock. Black vinyl with black labels and silver printing, with a black inner sleeve as well.
Side A/PHT: Opens with a drum beat before vocals guitar and bass all pound in at once- huge sounding, with a rhythmic scraping layered on top. Again, not to dissimilar from the other 7", but still unique it is execution, and sounds different enough to keep my interest. Each of these full-band tracks has a certain element that draws my attention to it, this one being the looping/rhythmic scraping more than anything. The track fades to a drone, with the drums becoming sparse (and only seeming like a crash cymbal) and saturated with reverb. The drone pulses, and a distorted synth line fades in. Everything stays for a little while before fading out.
Side B/Juhyo: Opens up with delayed oscillations- sounding like electricity surging at high current through blown TV's and other electronic devices before a ghostly droning ambience (not sounding dissimilar to that of a Buddha Box) makes its way into the limelight, everything seems to be effected by a low pass filter. A delayed sample of a mans voice with a short slap-back delay comes in over the droning and then turns into a different sample, then going back to the mans voice, than again another sample before more oscillations pulse in. A deeper synth drone down at the bottom, everything repeating at a slow pace and building, some textures becoming more apparent than others. Everything then separates into two distinct layers- unaffected oscillations, and echo/low pass effected synth drones. Another sample comes in before turning back into the ghostly ambience and fading.
4/5
More PHT reviews later...
