The Rubber Room column is a weekly look at recent and notable releases that don’t fall into the rubric of traditional reviewed material—namely 7”’s, 12”’s, 3” CDs, EPs, cassette-only, DVDs and MP3-only releases.

Merzbow
Merzbuddha
[Important, 2005]

These three mantras are amongst Merzbow’s best work since he turned his back on the analogue noise sources and moved into the digital era. Taking an unchanging pulsating bass line “Mantra 1” moves through levels of electrical storms (via one odd cloud of fighting ducks), leaving the listener zoning in and out of the flows. Both “Mantra 2” and “Mantra 3” are perkier, and possibly even head-nodders given the right atmosphere. Competing insect jaw sounds sync up with the bass, creating something new from the two clashing elements in “2,” while “3” becomes more upbeat with slightly overlapped rhythms lapping each other through the scalding water noise.
[Scott McKeating]

Merzbow
Sphere
[Tzadik, 2005]

Is this a beat? A beat I can tap my pen to? The Merzmeister uses this, his second release on John Zorn’s label, to continue his concentration on beats as well as noise. All three parts of “Sphere” contain elements of rhythm with differing levels of prominence, with “3” relying only on a wet slapping pulse (great burnt out motor sounds at 5:10 though if you feel let down). The clattering skulls of “2” manage to ride on an unsubmerged bassline through the fog of white noise. Closer “Untitled for Vasteras” heads back to pastures noisy with digital fires sending smoke through clouds of carrion birds in an overwhelming trebly swarm of static. The tiny rhythmic undercurrent eventually comes round again in a big full circle.
[Scott McKeating]

Merzbow
Bariken
[Blossoming Noise, 2005]

Bariken’s problem is that it’s just a tiny bit too long, well at thirty odd minutes its closing tracks "Bariken (Reprise) Mother of Mirrors" is about twenty minutes too long from where I’m sitting. The same applies to “Minka 1” and “Minka 2” who build layer upon layer of different-sized hailstones to batter the listener through mini-structures bleeding back and forth; good, but just too long to be actually enjoyable. It’s left to “Minka 3” to carry the EP with tortured and faded vocal slices on a black wind, but this time with a beat similar to brick-size hailstones.
[Scott McKeating]

Merzbow
Rattus Rattus
[Scarcelight, 2005]

Merzbow backs the hairier side in the eternal struggle between those who would leave rubbish bags outside and those who would rip them open after dark for dinner. Apparently a concept piece on the rough deal that rats get from humans, these tracks shriek, squeal, and scrabble through bursting balloons of noise attempting to (possibly) paint a picture of their world. But the malevolent sounds here and the lack of any actual words / text from Merzbow, apart from the PETA address on the sleeve, can work both ways, giving the sense that rats are indeed plague-carrying, smelly cannibals that need to be hit with broom handles.
[Scott McKeating]