Merzbow - (2019) Dead Lotus

No Funeral ‎– 009

This strictly limited edition cassette release for the tiny No Funeral Records label out of Cambridge, Canada is no exception – three shortish slabs of lush carpets of chaotic static and pure noise, interspersed with recognisable almost rhythmic bass ‘beats’ and shrieking high-pitched whines, feedback, squeaks, and machine noises on side one (which form a themed whole) and a longer, layered, and shimmering assemblage that is, dare I say it, almost tuneful. ‘Spirulina Blue’ is what I would call ‘classic’ industrial music, the kind I particularly gravitated to in the late eighties/early nineties. This one still has the Merzbow trademark nuclear granulation but also includes a keening ‘melody’ weaving its way through the noise. I’m even tempted to categorise this as dark noise ambient – labels are mostly useless when it comes to this Japanese artist but in this case it fits nicely.