| REVIEWS
BRAINWASHED
...the remix album included with the first one-hundred copies of Aural
Anagram is a more cohesive, varied, and interesting exploration of droning
sounds and sexual expression. Instead of being a series of nine tracks
like the original was, Anal Aura Gram is four tracks tied together very
closely so that the recording can be experienced as a whole. By cutting
the album down by ten minutes and condensing much of the original material,
Liles creates an almost deafening world. It isn't deafening because it's
overly loud or overpowering in any way, it's just that the sounds used
produce the aural equivalent of claustrophobia. Every sound has a tactitle
quality, whether it is feathery softness or the cold feeling of making
a discomforting observation. More melodic elements are present than on
the original and not so much time is devoted to near-silence or frustrating
repetition. The vocal samples are used more sparingly and multiple textures
are used throughout so that nothing overstays its welcome. This sort of
attention to detail adds to the eerie and dire feelings that were attempted
on the original mix: various melodic tones float like bubbles and are
flourished by rolling sparkles in piano-like ascents and descents. Small
buzz-saws cut away quietly in the background while other alien sounds
stutter and chop their away across the sound spectrum. Here and there
feminine moans and abrupt cries appear and disappear within the mix creating
a vaguely erotic tension while maintaining a secretive tone that hints
at violence, destruction, and (somehow) infidelity. There are fewer overtly
sexual references made, but the ones used are both exciting and unsettling.
The remixes are everything Aural Anagram could've (and should've) been,
so those interested should grab a copy before they all disappear. - Lucas
Schleicher |
