MP3: The Skull Defekts - Sex fracture

I got a few copies of the new album "Skkulls" from all-star noise collective The Skull Defekts over the weekend and it's a monster. Truthfully, it's quite a bit more subdued than the live document "Open the gates of Mimer", but aural brutality is still their main calling-card. As the text under the CD states, "The extra K is feedbacking your skkull / Beware / Explode". They aren't fooling around. However, if you're expecting Masonna or Merzbow-level cacophony, you'll probably be disappointed as this record is far more minimalist and controlled. Group improv still factors as a huge part of their sound, but the pure electronic origins of the recording gives the music an icy coldness that separates it from their other work. Opening track "Sex fractures" is a good introduction - there's a recurring, two-note rhythmic theme that holds it together. As the title suggests, the piece is fractured and the sound cuts in and out, threatening to fall apart at any moment. It spits and crackles and hums. The band tends toward droning ambience elsewhere on the record, but I really enjoy the way they use interspersed silence here. Very recommended.

The Skull Defekts - Sex fracture