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Marching Dynamics
Nailsleeper

Hymen Records

Posted: Friday, January 18, 2008
By: Matthew Johnson
Features Editor

After the rhythm 'n' noise 'n' funk of The Operative's An Adoring Circle of Radical Calamity, Shane Talada shifts directions once again, with a new moniker and a new label. If The Operative was funky and extroverted, offering some of the rhythmic noise scene's most fun and funky beats, Marching Dynamics is the yin to its yang; introspective, dark, even a bit morbid. The closest thing to cheerful here is the clown laughter on "Mutant Moth in British Smog," and that's a lot closer to madness than comedy, unsettling even by creepy clown standards. Though Talada isn't able to jettison his inherent rhythmic prowess entirely, as evidenced by the head-nodding electro beats of "Stoic" and the slow hip-hop breaks of "Lashings," the rhythm isn't really the focus; it's more of a skeletal underpinning for unsettling meditations of wavering synths, chopped snippets of conversation, and subtle layers of distortion. While the genres he explores on Nailsleeper range from IDM on "Dark They Were and Golden Eyed" to gritty dub on "Insolence" to distorted techno on "Luring Mintmasters," Talada ties everything together with a production style that combines the cold and harsh effects of power noise with a mood that's less overtly violent than darkly obsessive. On "Them in Salt," brittle synths crackling under moody harmonies and stony beats drenched in digital delay, and "The Dead Live by Love" sets a spoken meditation on mortality to softly creaking rhythms and mournful saxophone samples. "Tangible Madness" is sound manipulation at its most intricate, but the numerous snaps, clicks, and shredded vocal phrases don't seem tortured, fitting together into a fragile but compelling clockwork. With its intellectual preoccupations, Marching Dynamics doesn't offer the instant gratification of Talada's more dance-focused work, but Nailsleeper indicates a more mature sensibility, a fine wine to contrast the 40 oz. malt liquor of The Operative. Fans of other Hymen Records acts, particularly Architect, will no doubt especially enjoy this one.