[$5 // https://room-fillingsounds.bandcamp.com/album/little-things-break-2]
This is a double cassette and I will admit (because I pride my reviews on truth) that I was a little hesitant to listen to this after hearing the other cassette because I was concerned it might be more acoustic guitar loops. While that cassette was good on its own and all I just didn't think I could listen to two more cassettes worth of a similar sound. Luckily, this does not seem to be the case as soon as I press play on this. As I listen to this for a few minutes I begin to feel foolish for ever doubting that this wouldn't be awesome.
Side 1A is ambient and drone but there is a certain beauty to the music. When I think of ambient and drone music (and when I write about them) it always comes with this sort of drawn out feeling where it just kind of goes on forever like really long humming or the buzzing of a lightbulb. But this consists more of electric guitar notes which can resonate as well as have that tuning vibe going on where you feel like you're slowly dancing up and down the scales. Some booming gong type sounds come out near the end before just an overall celestial sound and I'm really enjoying the fact that this could be ambient and drone (Though maybe not as much as your standard drone) and yet still sound different from what I've heard before.
Side 1B is a bit quieter than 1A. There are guitar notes like there are before but they're just somehow minimal. I wouldn't use a term like "flurry" on either side here, but for all that Side 1A does Side 1B does seemingly less which is not to say in any way that it is worse because it's just a sort of stripped down piece that has those bare essentials. One of my concerns aside from listening to this on the whole as I opened with was just hearing this from A to B and then A to B again because something about a double cassette makes me feel like I'm about to eat a huge meal after a buffet. For the first of the two cassettes though I couldn't imagine now listening to it any way other than back to back.
Side 2A has that sort of drone sound to start which could be the tone of an organ or such and then it turns into a crackling static that kind of sounds like trying to plug into a live amp. This loud distortion comes through the almost silence in bursts. Jackhammering distortion builds the feedback, turns it into enraged strings. It rattles like something I've never heard rattle before: a bell perhaps. Feedback brings in a changing of the distortion bursts now as it sounds more like a false car engine start. Whirrs wave back and forth like walking a tightrope. It grows very quiet, almost gone. Then it is interupted by another plugging in bit. The crackling now could be wind and then the guitar feedback gets louder. It's really taking on that drone quality all its own now if only because of the feedback ringing in so pure. Some electric guitar clanking ends the side in what I can deem the only appropriate way to go out.
While Side 2B has that plugging into an amp drone going on, with only the slightest of changes, it turns into this high pitched tones that reminds me of a dog whistle and as such, yes, is hard on the ears. In some ways it almost sounds like the drone of a broken smoke detector and that is nothing to be taken lightly, children! The tone eventually changes to something not as high pitched but it still drags out and can be harsh on the ears. Guitar notes eventually kick in to help drown out the drone but it might be the other way around, I'm not sure but they seem to almost be at war with each other. It's slowing down now and getting to be a quieter drone but I still somehow feel as if it's trying to play tricks on my ears. A few short guitar notes do come out right before the end and I feel like it might kick into FNL before cutting off.
All these different sounds spread out over the course of two different cassettes which are a mere five dollars, so really it's quite a ride to take (lika deluxe edition extended version with bonus features) but at the end of it not only do I bet you'll be glad you did take it but you'll want to take it again.
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