Melbourne-based electronic / acoustic duo Go Genre Everything (aka Jen Tait and Zach Von Bamburger) have previously appeared on the ‘New Weird Australia Vol.1’ compilation, and this CDR EP release on Monstera Deliciosa ‘GELF’ collects together three tracks taken from a single improvised live performance at The Cesspool in Newcastle during October 2008. Given the proximity of the date, I’m inclined to think that the TINA festival was also involved here. From the very outset, it’s certainly very difficult to pigeonhole what’s going on here, in terms of style. Spanning twenty minutes in length, the first untitled track opens amidst a vaguely psychedelic wash of what sounds like delayed-out flutes and recorder, before wandering off into menacing (and at points piercing) horror movie keys. Thankfully, things soon enter more calm waters with even the noise of squeaky toys being briefly deployed at one point, though it’s something of a false rise to the surface before things get dragged back down into menacing droning ambience, the sickly sound of slowed down orchestral tones and swelling feedback sliding against the occasional stray chime, to sinister effect.
In contrast to the childlike, playful aesthetic in evidence on the first track, the second 15 minute long track here sees things headed straight down into gritty darkness, as skittering, electronically treated rhythmic textures slowly unfurl around dark, buzzing synth drones, howling distant guitar feedback and bleeping background electronics, but in this case it’s the emergence of deliberately naively played xylophones and straining recorders towards the second half that rescues things from complete bleakness. Finally, the final track here offers something of a brief outro coda at just under three minutes in length, with its recorder duet coming across as part campfire song, part lullaby, as well as being what’s easily this EP’s most immediately accessible and ‘coherent’s moment. There’s certainly traces of the Lucky Dragons’ improvisational performance approach to be found here, but with the three live tracks here Go Genre Everything succeed in existing in a zone of their own No Wave meets drone / psyche /noise making.
Chris Downton
