Search - Main :: Dry Stone Feed Ep

Embers

loteq | Regensburg | 07/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The 38-minute EP is one of Main's most interesting and ferocious efforts, showing that Robert Hampson's 1992 guest performance with grindcore rockers Godflesh ("Pure") has left its marks. Unlike many other Main albums, subtlety is not the name of the game on "Dry stone feed". The guitars are loud and grinding, yet they never sound like conventional rock guitars at any point of the record. Drums, bass, and vocals are still here but fail to surface in the mix. Starting with the aggressive "Cypher" (the remix version on "Ligature" is slightly calmer), each subsequent track comes up with even more astonishing guitar distortion. The riffs of "Above axis" bounce wildly between the stereo channels, but the perverse poppiness of "Blown" is the real highlight here. "Pulled from.." begins in a similar vein as "Aboxe axis", but it soon steers away from guitar noise to cold, alienated ambient sounds which seamlessly flow into the pulsating title track, prefiguring the 'drumless space aesthetic' Main would reach on the "Firmament I-IV" series. All I can say is that "Dry stone feed" is mindblowing, utterly fascinating guitar music that demolishes anything from Sonic Youth to My Bloody Valentine. Buy without hesitation."