“Frequency of Hertz”
There’s often a spooky vibe to 0781KT’s music, and “Frequency of Hertz” is no exception; it is definite horror movie soundtrack material. Whether it’s slow pulsing noise and sounds of the monster behind you (specifically on “2”) or the unearthly drones and noises throughout the rest of the album, it’s bad things waiting to happen. The highlight for me is the magic “3” which feels like Eno vs. John Carpenter (and, spoiler alert, I think Carpenter wins this round).
“Nausea”
The long opening track of “Nausea” features dramatic, sparse piano. It is almost, dare I say it, Eno-esque. It’s a beautiful track, but don’t be fooled; you are being lulled into a false sense of security. The rest of the album goes back and forth between some relatively calm sounds (light synth washes, slow rhythms, etc.) and some darker elements including sinister voices. Where I felt 0781KT’s last album “Kill the Human Race” was telling us to not go down into the basement, I feel like the message here is don’t go outside into your neighborhood.
But what to make of that title? I was pondering that as I listened to this album, wondering if it had something to do with the fluctuations between peaceful and edgy in these songs. And then I hit the final track (“9”). The song includes some persistent police radio samples and recurring noise that reminded me of burning fires. It echoes troubling current events, despite the notes indicating this was recorded in the 1990’s, and it made me a little nauseous. Regardless, this is a powerful track and a great conclusion to this diverse and interesting album.
“Kill the Human Race”
This one is a bit of a slow burn of noise. Among the first few tracks you hear a few elements of post-punk or goth music – a bit of an industrial beat here (on the first track, “1”), or a little guitar abrasion there (“2”) – but those are relatively brief. What you get much more of throughout this album is eerie noise, including machine sounds, banging, indecipherable voices, and odd electronic glimpses. In fact, at times these tracks seems like they are more traditional songs trying to break free, but they never quite make it. I fought the morass and the morass won, but there’s lots of interesting stuff down there.
If I had to sum this up in one phrase, it would be “don’t go down in the basement.”