#001 – #024

#023
“EQUINOX”
Three tracks that all have slow moving overlapping drone sounds that somewhat have that traditional alien spacecraft vibe. As I’ve noted before, Kevin often includes technical listening recommendations like what level to set your stereo or where to sit related to your speakers. This one simply says “Speakers Required.” As opposed to, I suppose, Laurie Anderson’s Handphone Table, although I’d like to give that a try.
Rating: Kevin Drummm

#022
“Ghybbrish”
This is one of those releases where I got an idea in my head early on about what the artist was trying to convey and, as I continued listening, everything seemed to fit. Did I nail it, or is it all just “ghybbrish” that my brain is neatly sorting based on some sort of confirmation bias? This release is over an hour and a half long, and was originally available as a limited edition double cdr. The first three songs would have been on one disc and I thought of it as Kevin Drumm getting back to nature. It’s noise to be sure, but it overall felt like it was evoking a night at a remote rural property. The sounds generated suggesting things like insects, fireworks, a rain storm, frogs, wind in the trees, something going through the wood pile, and ultimately day break. Or maybe it’s all just musical gobbledygook; what do I know.
 
What would have been the second disc has four numbered tracks starting with the words “Incus Fear.” These songs were completely different than the three openers. Each of the four “Incus” tracks feature a different vibrating tone with little variation that is, perhaps, intended as some sort of test of the incus bone in your middle ear. I give the first half 4 m’s and the second half 3 m’s, so overall this is getting the rare 3.5m rating.
Rating: Kevin Drummmn

#021
“June Spill”
I’ll admit when I heard the first minutes of this track I thought it might turn out to be a bit if of a dull listen that I’d just have to get through. It starts off with some metallic sounding drones and maybe a bit of machine hum. And honestly it largely continues on that vein for its 29+ minute duration. However, there constant subtle shifts along the way, including some slightly increased intensity that leads to a bit of feedback at times. The evolving sound keeps your interest level up.
Rating: Kevin Drummm

#020
“Indifferent Bystander”
In some ways this doesn’t sound too different than the last one I reviewed (see #019 below) and perhaps even the titles suggest a bit of a linkage. In fact, they were both recorded within a month of each other, so perhaps he was exploring the same musical vein. This one is slightly noisier and has a bit more variety in the electronic sounds created; you occasionally feel a pulsing sensation, and there’s also some fading in and out over the sixteen minute duration. Put this on after “Some Event” if you’re still working on that Oro De Calabaza.
Rating: Kevin Drummm

#019
“Some Event”
Kevin makes several recommendations that go along with this long track, including reading, drinking and smoking. It suggests this may be a quieter piece of music and yes, indeed, it is. It is ambient music made up predominantly of what sounds like waves of very gentle feedback; very calm and unassuming. For a short period of time while I was listening to this Mrs. Trapezoid was sampling some nature sounds in the other room and it blended perfectly.
 
As for that drinking mentioned above, his recommendation is specific: a bottle of Oro De Calabaza (Jolly Pumpkin). Since I’m also a beer guy I checked Untappd (a social app for beer lovers that I use) and actually found an account that could belong to Kevin Drumm. There’s no activity on his page, but I sent him a friend request anyway. I’ll see if anything happens (Friendship acceptance?  Ignoring the request? Restraining order?).
Rating: Kevin Drummmm

#018
“Necro Acoustic 3 – Decrepit”
This is another album that was originally part of 2010’s acclaimed “Necro Acoustic” box set (see entry #002 below for “Necro Acoustic 1 – Lights Out”). While I didn’t enjoy “Lights Out” as much as most of the other offerings so far, “Decrepit” is packed with 13 great tracks. Kevin Drumm, the versatile noisenik, is on full display. There are lots of different approaches here, whether it’s the in-your-face distorted machine sounds of opener “Stomach Acid,” the mangled electrical storm of “Trash,” or the more subtle minimalism of “older shit 1.” A great mix of sounds sure to leave you noise lovers wanting more.
Rating: Kevin Drummmmm

#017
“With Pulse​,​Without.”
We’ve got a couple pretty straightforward tracks here…sort of. The first, “Without,” actually does have a pulse throughout the entire track. Based on the title of the other song on this release I did not expect this, but here we are. Some higher pitched drone enters about three minutes in and dances around the pulse for the rest of the track. “With Pulse” is up next and is a long string of staticky, fuzzy drone lines. It features no pulse, or does it?
 
Both these tracks are the type that seems pretty consistent on the surface but, as you listen, you hear things that may or may not actually be there. Is the volume of that pulse going up and down? Is there actually a pulse in that second track? I may be hearing everything exactly as recorded, or my mind and ears may be playing tricks on me because of the nature of this sound. Based on Kevin’s listening suggestion (“Find a chair place it directly in the middle and a couple of feet away from 2 speakers…”) it seems clear these aural illusions are intentional.
Rating: Kevin Drummm

#016
“May 1”
This is a pretty straightforward 21-minute piece.  The sound is mostly metallic humming drones that ebb and flow. There’s nothing special about this one to me. However, it may be appealing to all those fans of May Day who just can’t get enough of anything even tangentially related to that holiday.
Rating: Kevin Drumm

#015
“Fortification Spectrum”
This one’s all about the migraine. Specifically (from the title and some of the information included), about the image that can float in your eye when you get a migraine headache; if you’ve ever experienced a “migraine aura” you’ll recognize it immediately. So what does Dr. Drumm prescribe? Why nothing more than this long piece of music that I’ll call industrial ambient. It buzzing and humming, but it’s not harsh, in fact, it’s mostly barely there. As you crawl into bed in a dark room when your migraine comes on you should probably turn this one to help you through your recovery. It kicks up a bit at the end to bring you back into the light.
Rating: Kevin Drummm

#014
“Electronic Harassment 6“
A couple years ago there were some stories in the news about US and Canadian government employees in Cuba who complained about odd noises and resulting health issues (including cognitive, vision, and balance problems). Although nothing yet has been proven, many in the US Government believe they were victims of some kind of “acoustic attack” with a “sonic weapon.” This came to mind while I was listening “Electronic Harassment 6.” This is a single longer track of weird electronic noises, including some higher pitched sounds that accomplish the neat trick of sounding like they are surrounding you. It all left me feeling uneasy and agitated. Is it possible some cool diplomat in Cuba was simply listening to Kevin Drumm and it all led to a big misunderstanding? If you like electronic noise pieces, this one’s for you, but listen at your own risk.
Rating: Kevin Drummmm

#013
“TANNENBAUM”
There’s a lot of electroacoustic drone for your buck with “TANNENBAUM.” This is well over 2 hours of longer form pieces. The opening track “Night Side” is almost an hour of gentle, mesmerizing sound. You can certainly get lost in all the earlier pieces presented here. The later tracks get a bit louder with “Return” and “Grace” (which seems to be just a continuation of “Return”) featuring more metallic/buzzing sounds, and closer “Dimming the Gas Lights” with its more overt rhythm (sounding like a mix of airplanes and fog horn) and a few extra features in the mix. And shout out to “Winter Ice” which may have the slowest fade in of any music in recorded history.
Rating: Kevin Drummmm

#012
“Front Room”
This is a relatively short (two tracks) presentation of musique concrete, using what sounds mostly like mistreated guitar. Perhaps the front room of the title is where KD found items to manipulate the instrument and to create their own contributing sounds. This whole release is another relatively minimalist release; it passes by quickly, including the long, quiet fadeout on closer “Front Room B.”
Rating: Kevin Drummm

#011
“Don’t Ask”
This is one long (39+ minutes) track. KD describes it as “Minimal prepared guitar recording…” And, boy, minimal is right. Contrary to expectations for someone often known for aggressive noise pieces, this one is all about the silence/not silence. At random times for the duration of this work (maybe on average every minute or so, give or take) a very short bit of sound interrupts the silence. I’d almost call it a variation of John Cage’s 4’33”. And even when the track ends, it doesn’t really seem to end; you may find it’s still with you as an “extended mix” in your personal environment as you go on with your day.
Rating: Kevin Drummm

#010
“Runtish ep”
KD often includes details about the recording on the page for each release – where it was recorded, when it was recorded, etc. This one was a little different; it said only “Thomas Bernhard was right!” There’s an Austrian writer by that name whose debut novel “Frost” includes this line: “As if some runtish dictator, invisible, unapproachable, at least for humans, threw a vast machinery into action, with horrendous noise that one is helpless to oppose…” So perhaps we have a clue of intent. This single track release moves through phases focused on different noises including piano strings, electricity, static and machine hum, and generally gets quieter as it rolls along. Horrendous noise? Not to my ears.
Rating: Kevin Drummmm

#009
“HUMID WEATHER”
Seems this one was inspired by the July 1995 heatwave in Chicago that claimed hundreds of lives, so you know going in this won’t be happy. There are two longish tracks. First up is “Humid Weather.” It starts with a heavy thunderstorm until about the 5:20 mark when that suddenly stops and we proceed through quiet metallic drones and eventually voices and siren-like drones, all of which is ultimately subsumed by the return of the heavy rain; a haunting end to the track. “Heat Stress” follows with a blast of static and thick mix of disturbing noises. That is until the same moment as the previous song (5:20) when the sound suddenly stops again. But this time there is a quick return of the static and a slight uptick in disturbing noises. Eventually buzzing takes over and takes us through the last several minutes.
Rating: Kevin Drummm

#008
“The Obstacles of Romantic Exaggeration”
A compilation of 17 tracks, this is an excellent overview of the many moods of Kevin Drumm. The song sounds range from barely there to pure noise, the song lengths run from 15 seconds to over 14 minutes, and song titles contain from one word up to 13 (not counting the ellipsis). I’ll mention a few favorites to give a sense of the range of sounds, but it’s an overall great mix. After the blast of noise on the opening track, “Stochastic Sophistication” allows you to catch your breath with what sounds to me like someone processing the various noises that can be made with an old rotary telephone. “A Hairdresser Who Suddenly Went Mad and Decapitated A Duke” includes sounds similar to humming metal and singing glasses (you know, when you run your finger around the rim of a wine glass). I felt like I was trudging through a sewer while listening to “Nanoplankton,” and I mean that in the most positive way possible. Oh, and that song with the ellipsis? It’s called “This Sounded Like A Bad Fennesz Rip So I Bagged It… Until Now” and the title is apt. This release would be an excellent place to start for the KD neophyte. It is so good I had to give it more than the excellent 5-m rating.
Rating: Kevin Drummmmm+

#007
“Less Than Half As Loud”
This relatively short one-track release deserves a relatively short and sweet review. The dominant sounds here are pulsing drones and creaking noises (like the sounds of a rickety old boat bobbing in the waves). In the background at various times you’ll hear static, footsteps, human sounds, and maybe frogs. If I was in a certain frame of mind I could easily see myself as absorbing this all as a somewhat creepy track. In the event, I found it very calming, like relaxing out on the dock of a marina late at night.
Rating: Kevin Drummmmm

#006
“The Illusion Of Having Plans”
An unexpected development…something really quiet from Kevin Drumm. This is a long, one-track release and when I first hit play I didn’t hear anything. Then I noticed in the description that Kevin called it “particle music” (which I’m fairly certain is a term he coined) and recommended playing it at the “loudest volume possible.” Nervously (which, in my defense, I think is justifiable in light of the other noise I’ve listened to so far) I turned the volume all the way up to 11 and started over. Sure enough, while still quiet, there was some static scattered amongst the silences. For the duration you’ll hear what at times sounds like a Geiger counter or the sound of a needle on a vinyl record, but it mostly good old-fashioned static. But, there is also a bit of a challenge here; several times during the course of the 46 minute piece there is an interruption from a slightly intrusive chattering rhythm. It’s almost like it’s trying to take over from the static, but the static won’t give up so chatter fades and regroups. Toward the end chatter tries one more time, but can’t out do static and drops out before static slowly fades away.
Pro tip: Just don’t forget to turn your sound back down when done or you might be in for a rude surprise for whatever you listen to next.
Rating: Kevin Drummm

#005
“The Kitchen”
I humbly submit that the Big Muff is the greatest of all distortion pedals. It’s put to an interesting use here (along with some other tools) to modify that king of all noise instruments – the accordion. An unexpected combination that leads to three interesting tracks on this album. The first (“Accord A”) is a bit of a mellower offering from Mr. Drumm than his usual; it’s sort of an ambient drone piece with some slight metallic sound over a bed of deeper tones. “Accord B” (of course) is up next; this is a longer, more abrasive piece with grinding, buzzing, and white noise elements. For the third and final track, well, for starters, can you guess the name? Wrong, it’s just called “C.” Regardless, this track offers some extremely quiet and deep tones. Each of the three is consistent in their design from beginning to end; you could sample a song at any point and have a pretty good idea what is on offer for that entire track. You might say this is another music in a different kitchen…or not. But it is another good one from the catalogue.
Rating: Kevin Drummmm

#004
“Purge”
If you’re into this noise thing that I expect will feature in most/all of these Kevin Drumm releases, I’m not sure you could find a better one than “Purge.” Out of the gate you get hit in the face with screaming metallic noise, but this is not a simple monolith of harsh sounds. At any given time you may hear what sounds like metal being drilled, buzzing electricity, feedback, or an actual hurricane (to mention but a few features that are called to mind). There are frequent shifts in the details of the loud noises, but also numerous places where the sound drops completely for a second or two or ratchets down for a brief period to something calm (relatively speaking), which builds the tension for the next blast you know is coming. And listen for the false ending – harsh electricity fades back in, and then all is capped with some regal church bells and brass band sound. Maximum “m’s” for this one.
Rating: Kevin Drummmmm

#003
“REVERSE OSMOSIS”
While I was listening to “REVERSE OSMOSIS,” Mrs. Trapezoid walked into the room with a quizzical look on her face and asked “do you hear that noise?” She had been looking around trying to figure out what the odd sound was that she was hearing from the other room. I hit the mute button and she said “Oh, it’s your music” and left the room unfazed. Yes dear, nothing to be concerned about…it’s just Kevin Drumm.
This release is one longer track made up of sinewaves. It’s fairly straightforward as the waves overlap, fade up and down, and create pulsing rhythms. Close your eyes and relax; this is one of those things you can put on and work your way into a trancelike state.
Rating: Kevin Drummmm

#002
“Necro Acoustic 1 – Lights Out”
This is a four track album with absolutely no information on the Bandcamp page, but it sounds like all electronics. Wire Magazine put “Necro Acoustic” on its Top 50 releases list for 2010; turns out this was one of five albums included in a “Necro Acoustic” box set released that year. Apparently all five were released individually on Bandcamp at later dates, so I’ll be getting to the other four eventually (following my previously disclosed and patented “random” strategy).

After the endurance test of the “60 Minute Relief” I guessed this would be a walk in the park and, indeed, it turned out these tracks were less dense and abrasive. The first track starts out sounding like the din of nature out in the country somewhere, then a couple minutes in some stranger sounds like a helicopter and spaceship appear. There are also some high-pitched tones. Disclaimer: I have chronic tinnitus so it’s possible I was adding the tones to the mix. The second track starts very quiet and builds some gentle static, then adds some more tones and electronics (and maybe voices at the end) down in the mix. Both tracks had a bit of a creepy feel and are recommended. Track three is extremely quiet; in fact, I honestly don’t know if there’s anything there at all (did I mention my tinnitus?). The final long track is made up mostly of very subtle high and low pitched tones. It reminded me of my last hearing test with my audiologist, so the last two tracks might be more enjoyable if you have good hearing but they don’t do much for me.
Rating: Kevin Drumm

#001
“60 Minute Relief”
So it begins on a lazy Sunday afternoon. This one jumps right in with full on industrial noise that somewhat shocked me into alertness. The release notes indicate this was made with pulse generators, shortwave, and distortion, but it also sounds to me like it could also be some shred guitar at the beginning. This is harsh noise and I know many who would run the other direction after about 30 seconds. However, if you’re into this sort of thing, it’s a trip. After the heavy opening, the sound abruptly shifts at about the 9:40 mark and for the rest of the hour you’re pulled into a cacophony of noise that at times had me hearing (1) screams, although I couldn’t tell if they were of the terror variety or just my id letting off some steam, and (2) church organ and bells (but perhaps that was just some subliminal Sunday suggestion).  While I would in no way describe this one as “easy listening,” after I reached the abrupt end at the 59:05 running time of this, I felt a strange calm; maybe this will all work out.
Rating: Kevin Drummmm