Stalwart - "Torment Nonplus" (Badvugum BV-8)
Uploaded to Aural Innovations: July 2004
Stalwart are a new Finnish band on the Bad Vugum label formed out of the ashes of Paine and features members of Circle and Moon Fog Prophet. This 23 minute EP features some very strange noisy psychedelic stuff. Drunken Sincerity Of Hesekiel is a noisy affair with Theremin, noisy guitar and pounding drums. Kindergarten Trad features vocals and is a driving spaced out hypnotic strange song. The band mix an incredible range of bizarre guitar abuse sounds and noises into the mix to give the music a full on psychedelic head trip. Bizarre but cool stuff. Central Sandras On Black Paint Porch is 2 minutes of dissonant guitars and stuff. Layered Ironies starts with a Circle like repetitive drum line and the guitars and bass slowly filter in on the top as the song builds and the guitars layer in and ranging from surf to metal to wammybar madness. Variance and Valediction - Monologue ends the CD with a fast paced mindblower.
For more information you can visit the Bad Vugum web site at: http://www.badvugum.com.
Reviewed by Scott Heller