Well that's certainly a title for a post! To be honest, I might have entirely skipped n000000000 (that's nine 0's, in case you can't count) if it weren't for who exactly makes it up: Alex O’Toole (Meniscus) & Simeon Bartholomew (SEIMS). With that kind of pedigree, I knew immediately to what expect: the unexpected of course but also a fair share of instrumental, gnarly, groovy, and meaty progressive/math/jazz/whatever rock. And guess what I got? That's right, I got .1 (sorry boys, I am not typing all of those zeroes every time) and exactly what I expected. It's an album chock full of drums that will blow your ears off, guitar lines that will make you go "huh", and so many more instruments that I won't even try to name here. Oh and it's all entirely improvised and recorded live. What are you waiting for? Get in there!
You can just hear the unrestrained energy of the living recording from the get go. I can imagine the both of them freaking out over their instruments, sweat, wires, and feedback filling up whatever room they chose to record this energy in (Adversary Studios, thank you for letting these guys past the door). And yet, there is also restraint here and control. After all, you have to become a true master of your craft to let yourself truly loose and that's exactly what we see on display here. It's not just excess and self indulgence but two musicians following their ideas to their natural conclusion which is, admittedly, a whole bunch of off-kilter, noisy, math rock.
.1 is out today at (who else) Australia's largest purveyor of weird/upsetting/depressing sounds, Bird's Robe Records. I command you to click through to that link above and grab the record. Or don't. I ain't the boss of you. Yet.