A slight departure from our usual reviewing now - we are about to delve into the world of noise music. Genre icon Aaron Dilloway released his new album last month and it's been well-received by most of the experimental music community. This is like nothing we've ever really listened to in full before so should at least be an experience... Let us begin.
Here's the method behind the rates:
1 - Shouldn't have been recorded
2 - Filler
3 - Above average filler
4 - Killer
5 - Career defining masterpiece
Track 01 - Ghost
John - 3/5
Tilly - 4/5
Track 02 - Karaoke With Cal
John - 2/5
Tilly - 2/5
Track 03 - Inhuman Form Reflected
John - 3.5/5
Tilly - 3.5/5
Track 04 - Born in a Maze
John - 2.5/5
Tilly - 3.5/5
Track 05 - It's Not Alright
John - 3.5/5
Tilly - 3/5
Track 06 - No Eye Sockets - For Otto & Sindy
John - 4/5
Tilly - 3/5
Track 07 - Switch
John - 2.5/5
Tilly - 3/5
Track 08 - Shot Nerves
John - 3/5
Tilly - 2.5/5
Conclusion
John - This was certainly an experience, I will say that! I actually enjoyed it too, which I was not expecting. The album as a whole felt like a reality trip for me. I think it's a masterpiece - not one that I'll probably listen to again, but the man is a genius. I appreciate his work more than a lot of artists nowadays. Dilloway has created a paradox here, somewhere that you can close your eyes and disappear to. Albeit a sinister one. It sounds like a soundtrack to a horror videogame/movie, you get this sense of foreboding whilst listening and your heartbeat gets faster, your breathing quickening at the same time. I cannot compare it to anything I've experienced from music before. The album flows as if you have just slipped from the real world, being pulled back out briefly with No Eye Sockets - For Otto and Sindy, before slowly being pulled back into the trance... That track is a stroke of genius, by the way. It splits the album perfectly.
Overall, this album is genius, but unfortunately it just isn't what I would listen to. But I do get it. I really do. Fans of the genre need to buy this immediately. And then proceed to listen in a dark room, with headphones on, under influence of as many narcotics as they can consume. Because that would be one hell of a ride.
Overall, this album is genius, but unfortunately it just isn't what I would listen to. But I do get it. I really do. Fans of the genre need to buy this immediately. And then proceed to listen in a dark room, with headphones on, under influence of as many narcotics as they can consume. Because that would be one hell of a ride.
Overall Score - 3.5/5
Tilly - I'm not who this music is aimed at. This is aimed at people who know the good noise from the bad, so I apologise that I only have my love of music to judge The Gag File. I've dipped in and out of this genre for the last year or so given that I have a father who is quite the fanatic. Little of it has grabbed my attention but he recommended this record, so thought we'd give it a try. I have to say this could be the album that converts me into a fan of alternative music. It's ominous, masterful, challenging and relentlessly powerful. It takes quite the skill to create an abstract noise, but still make it listenable and Dilloway was faultless in that respect. This is not my sort of music, but I can appreciate that this cohesive album is exceptional. I've tried to judge this album as fairly as I possibly can with my little knowledge, but after listening to The Gag File, I'm hoping to expand my musical horizons and get to know this underappreciated genre a little better.
Overall Score - 3.5/5