You know what shoes this is about. Mark Foggo wrote a song about them in 1980 (‘New Shoes’), and the shoes still fit, although the musical style changed slightly. Foggo did ska, and the shoes are now on the feet of Lob Instagon, who is the driving mind behind the annual NorCal Noisefest, Instagon, the artwork for Love Earth Music and who is connected to Big City Orchestra, +DOG+, as well as the Pissed Off Krishnas From Hell – of whom I’ve never heard but whose name I simply had to write down for laughs and giggles. But, no ska here … Noise and variations of noise. Because it’s Vital Weekly, and I’m writing stuff, right?
“A ‘Lil Test of That” is a short but powerful release. It has nine tracks between 1 and 4 minutes, give or take, totaling 23 minutes. The Noise here is not to be taken too seriously at all moments; “First Move” made me laugh because of the sample. Titles like “Birds in Heat” – recorded live in Phoenix, AZ – might also trigger your funny bone. But this whole album is about another thing: Experiments in Noise and power noise. No rhythms but slowly evolving noisescapes within the short time they’re there. Experiments in layers and sounds, or maybe emotion and Noise. From minimal distorted environmental sounds to short walls powerful enough to break skulls.
I notice it’s pretty challenging to write about this release. Each time I think I’m into the flow, the CD-r ends, and I need to start again. And I keep hearing new things or sounds each time, even though it’s so short. In my book, that’s all positive news. Summarize: A great new project by a guy in checkered shoes.
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