On this split LP these two label heads take opposite sides of wax. Brian Osborne takes the first side. Better known for his percussion work in George Steeltoe Ensemble, Blastocyst (with Marc Zajack), and Paper Legs, Osborne switches things up for this solo effort. Starting off with the hum and buzz of "For the Johnson Family,' Osborne keeps thing swaying back and forth between all sorts of contact mic'd buzz, fuzz, and static as if you could stick a contact mic into an electrical outlet and hear the bad electrical wiring working its way through an old house. Midway through a bass tone slowly takes over and leads things to an end while Osborne proceeds to distantly bang away on percussion of some sort. Osborne's second track "Fivefold Rotational Summary" takes you on through high frequencies, delayed electronics, and the occasional static interruption. The final track, "40 Doors," from Osborne's side continues on with the idea from the ladder half of the first track with a swaying bass drone with very distant metal scraping.
On the second half Deep Fried Tapes head man Marc Zajack, who also does solo jams under the moniker Antler Piss, takes his turn. Continuing on from Osborne's slow burners Zajack somehow finds a way to slow it down even more. Starting off with "Caught In the Dogs Cough" Zajack keep things pretty sparse with one beat from a drum machine that echoes slowly out, leaving only the space between that beat and the next. As the beat takes its steps Zajack brings in the occasional metallic rattled electronics to keep the flow going. The next and final track from Zajack brings it all down to its two words, "Smoked Haze." This jam starts off with a simple bass drone that fades into deep silence only to be occasionally interrupted by some heavily delayed metal rattle to give you a vibe of listening to someone struggling to keep their breathe.
All in both of these dudes find a way to keep things interesting at a slow, steady pace while complimenting their opposite sides. Both sides are definitely slow burners and give you plenty of time to wrap you mind around them. Solid jams from solid labels. 6/10 --
Jon Lorenz (22 July, 2009)
