archived brainwashed reviews
emptyset, “Borders” (Thrill Jockey, 2017)
Emptyset has always been a project that I felt weirdly guilty about not appreciating more, as they seemed like a more cerebral and mercilessly deconstructed twist on the UK’s industrial-damaged […]
My Cat is an Alien, “Eternal Beyond” and “RE-SI-STEN-ZA!” (Up Against The Wall, Motherfuckers!/Elliptical Noise (2017))
This winter marks the 20th anniversary of Maurizio and Roberto Opalio’s singular My Cat is an Alien project, a milestone that they are celebrating with a pair of fascinating and […]
Eli Keszler, “Last Signs of Speed” (Empty Editions, 2016)
Eli Keszler’s Cold Pin was easily one of most remarkable and inventive albums of 2011, but he has largely been working under my radar ever since, steadily releasing a flow […]
Expo Seventy, “America Here & Now Sessions” (Essence, 2017)
It occurred to me the other day that there was an incredible wave of great, experimentally minded solo guitarists several years back (Area C, Black Eagle Child, Talvihorros) that has […]
Esplendor Geométrico, “Fluida Mekaniko” (Geometrik, 2017)
I can think of few bands that are as cheerfully single-minded in their aesthetic vision as Esplendor Geométrico. In fact, I suspect I could have written a remarkably accurate (if vague) […]
Nurse With Wound, “The Great Ecstasy of the Basic Corrupt” (Dirter/Jnana, 2016)
This is a long-awaited CD reissue of a largely unheard 45 RPM art edition LP from 2014. Although the idea of getting a small Steven Stapleton painting with an album […]
Rashad Becker, “Traditional Music of Notional Species Vol. II” (PAN, 2017)
Rashad Becker’s 2013 debut album was a singular and radical work of art, resembling nothing less than field recordings from a sinister extra-dimensional jungle. For this follow-up, however, he apparently […]
William Basinski, “A Shadow in Time” (Temporary Residence, 2017)
Few current artists are as consistent and reliably absorbing as William Basinski, as he has carved a wonderful career out of conjuring work of hypnotic beauty from simple, well-chosen snippets […]