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"Like
a remix to an oddball BBC sound effects records, Sinister Noises
Volume One perhaps, Leoslayer's 14 track minimalist grave-hop
isn't for those in a hurry or indeed anyone looking for a knees
up. In fact so far removed are this deno's chilling soundscapes
from routine jukebox fare that they regularly blur the distinction
between atmosphere and music, which is a skill in itself. The
stripped down arrangements, occasionally erupting in a fountain
of cathartic clatter, have all the eerie paranoia of a horror
film soundtrack and create a genuine discomfort which given
a set of headphones and a lonely night-bus would swiftly graduate
to terrifying musical laxative. It's electronica at its darkest
and although its undoubtedly a difficult listen, which incidentally
is probably exactly as intended, its still a damn sight more
interesting than the squeaky voiced thrashmetal I was expecting,
even if it is a bit harrowing with the lights off. "
"I can see opinions being divided on this one. On one hand,
avant garde tuneless bollocks. That's probably the line they'll
quote. On the other, something wicked this way comes. Personally,
I'm a bit scared, but in a good way. 'New Toy' is seven tracks
of nightmare ambience. There's no beat, no tune and little structure,
just a collage of threatening and unnerving sounds with painful
dynamics made by synthesisers, guitars and samples, with an
underlying subterranean drone that fills you with a sense of
dread throughout. In a way, this is a marriage between God Speed!
You Black Emperor and Future Sounds of London with the whole
thing blessed by Brian Eno, Bill Drummond and Philip Glass.
Not so much chill out room as freak out dungeon. I can see how
they managed to freak out a bunch of hippies at one of their
gigs. 'Stolen Path' continues the dread but has a more Einsturzende
Neubaten industrial feel to it, with factory death rattles and
screams of 'there's no fucking freedom!' thrown in for good
measure. An intense montage of unpleasant noises and the perfect
soundtrack for a psychotic episode. In a good way"
SANDMAN magazine
Another wonderfully bizarre missive from LeoSlayer, Surprisingly,
it’s not actually that noisy, avoiding the overtly overwhelming
attack of an all-out aural assault for a far more subtle minimalist
approach. Perhaps it’s just the geek in me, but there’s
a definite feel of being space bound with this, with plenty
of 50’s sci-fi movie-esque bleeps and bloops, coupled with
some more sinister Blade Runner-style foley sound effects. It
all sounds pleasingly artificial, and there is always that feeling
of all-pervading, thrumming, subliminal evil to it that means
that whilst working on a soothing ambient level, when you decide
to really concentrate there’s enough there to keep you
attentive and intrigued. It stays largely consistent for the
first half hour or so, before fluidly and unexpectedly phasing
into a panicky beat fest followed by a twanged guitar section
that sounds like Ry Cooder on Mir.
Kunal
Nandi - Collective Zine
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