Cassette Review // Skuury "The Last Straw" (Eyemyth Records)

Sold Out //
Edition of 15 //
https://eyemythrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-last-straw //

There is a loud grinding synth to open "The Last Straw" and then this sound as if an electronic ping pong ball is bouncing around the room comes out.   There are waves of echoes before stomps come through in an almost glass-like manner.    A screeching type of sharpness comes through next and this has shifted from electronics to a harsh reality.    This carries with it a feeling of destruction.    What rings through next sound a bit like lightsabers but also can feel like if you took a metal pole and hit it against something else metal, that sort of resonating sound.    A little bit Transformers even, and then it has this steady pace as it grows minimal.

A hollow, mechanical feel makes it feel as if we are on a loading dock but somewhere in space because there are also just these trippy beeps which echo on through.    Through a low key amount of static trembling someone can be heard talking.     Whoever is talking sounds like they are being yelled at now.    Squeals like the tape being through bring this talking point to an end- I feel like it was a field recording- and that also brings us to the end of Side A.

Loud, frequency changes kick off Side B.   There is this synth ringing sound as well, which creates a nice tempo as the banging of beats are behind it.   This is somewhere in between Yves Malone and banging on something unconventional for the purposes of percussion.    Sharper tones breathe in and out like the Return of the Jedi Atari game.   There is a sharpness to this, sure, which makes it higher pitched but there is also this deeper bass underneath it which just creates such a fascinating effect as the two are combined.

Everything fades down now to this minimal clacking.    The next song starts with what could be a car engine but also those robotics noises like Wall-E or Transformers.    The car engine type of sound sort of drones back there while these other sounds come through like robots adding to the fire.   A series of beeps comes through next and really begins to build as well.   Beat skips come through in a rhythm which feels like hip hop at its core but makes me think of some video game and the sound you would make when punching another character, such as in a game like "Street Fighter" for example, but I'm also reminded of that old TMNT arcade game where you beat Foot Soldiers with your weapons, fists, feet, etc.

Slow waves bring about what sound like voices but they are coming through choppy.    We grind down to only the sound of tapping, that Tell-Tale Heart, and then feedback slowly comes in with beeps and other outerspace type of frequencies.   There is a certain, slowed video game sound to this as well.   It has elements of what could be called video game drone.   At some point it also begins to feel like the sound of water dripping.    Then solo tones come through softly.    This series of beeps is how this electronic noise cassette comes to an end and it only seems fitting for this journey we have taken into crossover greatness.