the north sea - tacazze sunbirds (album preview)

*Excerpts from the album. Now available at Experimedia.net.* An epic new missive from the ever-prolific Brad Rose under his increasingly less prolific North Sea moniker, "Tacazze Sunbird" comes to us via the somewhat mysterious Crazy Iris label (who are responsible for issuing a superlative KPLR record a couple years ago), and is unique in his repertoire as it's comprised of two side-length pieces and focuses on the harsher end of the sound spectrum. Opener "Suicide Spin" is as bleak as the title implies, with seething electronic drones set against negative space and otherworldly oscillations. "Over Under" is even more punishing and stark, with a caustic cycling tone beginning the side slowly evolving into a miasma of crumbling noise. This is the bleakest and most noise-oriented material I've heard from Brad to date, and it's also some of his strongest. Brad recently told me that he was finally putting the North Sea to bed, and if this is that project's swan song, it's one hell of an exit. - Alex Cobb, Experimedia
---
A soundtrack to desolation, a counterpoint to a woman floating underwater, arching her back to an orchestra... Brad, here, is crude and alone, though if he is secluded on the desert floor, it is not with grimace in tow, but with a painted smile.