Album Details

• Artist: Lasse Marhaug/mark Westell
• Album: Kiss Of Acid
• Label: Monotype
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2011-07-11

Norwegian noise pioneer Lasse Marhaug teams up with computer/electronics composer Mark Wastell for the latest voila from his inexhaustible creative idea box. This time around it is "Kiss of Acid," a single-track disc featuring Marhaug on prerecorded tam tam, a large gong. Forty minutes might seem a lot to invest in this instrumental lineup, but it does offer some sweet suprises.

I was expecting loud tolling gongs, maybe some Eastern influence, but for the most part Marhaug keeps in step within Wastell's thin tone, which often seems to evaporate into silence. Occasional the gong will remind us of its presence, especially at the end, where there is a brief foray into louder ambient drone.

Recorded five years ago and held up while waiting for a deal through a friend's label. "Kiss of Acid" provides the slow sizzle, rather than the screaming impact of that acid. I don't think this will appeal to those beyond the ambient/lowercase music/Marhaug fan base, but for those willing to give it a shot, it is a soft contemplative piece reminiscent of early Eno, who also tried to express the sound of an environment without disturbing its natural rhythms too much.

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