Kevin Winter's 2673 project has been around for a few years now, perhaps known best for its splits--an LP with Kevin Drumm on Kitty Play Records in 2005 or a split CDr with Jessica Rylan around the same time. Now it is 2010, and 2673 has returned with a new beast on the mighty 905 Tapes. It's another collection of solo analog synth/noise obsessions, and we should all be glad for that.

"When the Sinew..." consists of three nameless parts, and crashes right in upon the listener with the first notes. A massive low-end pulse surges out against a high, whistling coil of skree and continues pushing out at a lumbering pace, not so much smashing into things as eroding them. After a few minutes of this the first part abruptly ends, and section two establishes itself with a minimal low tone. The synth stays in the same lane for a good bit, then swells suddenly, as oscillations based on the original tone slowly and gelatinously overtake the whole. The changes are particularly dramatic when they do arrive, due to the patient development of section two. The subsonic textures here are totally immersive.

The final part of the piece takes up the second side of the tape, a smooth ride through an icy wasteland of burly synth textures, fierce drones, and guttural vocals. After the low frequency sonics that dominate each of the first two segments, 2673 works the high frequency range in the first part of section three, as a shrill, high drone is initially countered by low-end thrumm. Any sense of calm amidst the dread is dispersed by crashing waves of noise, and the low end is obliterated. As the cascade of noise subsides around the halfway point of the track, thick bassy textures return to the center of the proceedings. Section three reaches a crescendo and then stays there for awhile, drifting out into space until it is hit by a blast of high-frequency scuzz. More fractured shards of trebly synth and feedback join to do battle until the track's end.

Throughout the length of this tape 2673's long tonalities stretch out and interact with each other in beautifully diabolical ways. And though it is constructed out of harsh textures, the overall effect of "When the Sinew Is Cut, the Limbs Soon Relax" is oddly peaceful. Heaviness for sure, for head spaces small and big. 9/10 -- Mike Griffin (31 March, 2010)