How Things Are Made and Skeletonized both practice the art of the improvised freakout, stuffing their absurdist cacophonies with shards of metal, punk, jazz, ambient, and plain old noise. The two groups unite for a joint release, How Skeletonized Is Made.
Because HTAM and Skeletonized toss so many stylistic ingredients into their stew of derangement, it’s tough to pick one track from the album that exemplifies the work as a whole. Listen to atmospheric opener “He Knows All The Fjords” or the glimmering “Good Position,” and you might think you’ve accidentally wandered into a dystopian Sketches Of Spain offshoot. The blastbeat workouts of “I Want My Empty V” and “Paupers Of Even Eighths,” though, feel more like the product of a frenzied drum circle performed in a sewer. “Fave” is a different animal entirely; it features no percussion and consists of layers of guitar plucks that cluster, Seurat-like, to form an evocative whole. The song’s sprightly, freeform bursts of notes evoke everything from Cameroonian pop to English avant-garde. “Fave” may be my fave (pun not intended at first, and then fully intended) from How Skeletonized Is Made, but don’t just take my dumb opinion as gospel; listen to the full album and make your own determination.
Check out more from How Things Are Made and from Skeletonized
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