This release forms part of Silber Records’ 5 in 5 series – a group of cheaply-priced EPs that present five tracks in five minutes. On Sexist Tranny, Carl Kruger – half of the band Caucasians – presents what amount to field recording amuse-bouches. The tracks aren’t long enough to tell a story, but there’s plenty of room to whet your appetite.
The prevailing feeling of the recordings – and their provenance is unknown, buried in multiple layerings and laptop manipulations – is that of deep space, or of machinery talking to itself. Opener ‘Dead Biz Novelle’ is the sound of gigantic terrestrial radios, tuning from bogs to the vistas of cold space. ‘Bead Hell Oven Zit’s is a record of someone dropping their keys down the back of a DEC PDP-9 while it complains, loudly.
Elsewhere, ‘Ball Zoned Thieve’ is a portrait of days spent in a futuristic photocopy joint, while hovercars whip past outside, with a departing squelch. ‘Able Dozenth Evil’ brings us back to earth, the subterranean gods calling through some kind of farty bog in a way that brings to mind a drum machine stuck in tar, gummed up yet still somehow kicking out its message.
The most human sounds on the EP come in closer ‘Venalize the Bold’; there’s the sound of someone clearing their throat, almost, as if they’re keen to enter the digital conversations dominant thus far. A worrisome drone and a flight of digital bees provide a backdrop, as a deep bass note makes its presence known – before fading out just as the piece ends. It certainly gives a more personal note to the proceedings than the other four tracks can offer.
This isn’t a release for everyone. The length is obviously a hindrance, as the tracks are never really allowed to stretch out. But in their brevity is a cracked-window view of another world, and it’s worth hearing the tracks to see what an artist does with such tight confinement. With a minute to work with, it’s difficult to describe the effect of pieces. They foist snatches of imagery upon you, rather than convey a story. Have a listen, and you’ll have weird dreams of your own.
LUKE MARTIN
