Sonic Youth Gossip - A Handful of Dust 'Now Gods, Stand Up For Bastards/The Philosophik Mercury' 2xCD

Has anyone heard this re-issue double CD that just came out on Not Fun? In a year of phenomenal underground re-issues, this has to be one of the best. A Handful of Dust is duo between Bruce Russel (of you know who) and Alastair Gabraith. I've wanted to hear this music ever sicne I heard about the players involved, as I am a huge Dead C fanboy, an admirer or Gabraith's work, and generally have always had a huge man crush on New Zealand Free Noise music. And Free Noise this is. The Not Fun website says this of the duo, "Plunging straight into the chasm of ultra-minimalist abrasion and chaotic improv, these two records stand as unrelenting and engrossing epics of guitar feedback, disintegrating electronic sound, string-shredding violin abuse, and other facets of impassioned iconoclasm. Recommended for lovers of AMM, Henry Flynt, and Hijokaidan." That description is actually right on the money. A Hanfdul of Dust seemlessly incorporates AMM-esque improvisation and minimalism used to hyptnotic effect, the entrancing Flynt-inspired sounds adding layers of interesting concrete effects to the music, but alas, don't get your panties in a jumble, A Handful of Dust is not a wussy-academic like wank-fest. Nope, this is Noise, but the kind of Noise that mesmerizes you instead of pulverises you.

It actually reminded me of kind of what Bruce has been doing with the recent Dead C recordings, i.e., "Tusk" and beyond. In those records, the more rocking sound of the classic Dead C stuff was missing, replaced by endless networks of long improv drone sections, ambience, and loops. This for me anyways, seriously made the Dead C lost a lof of thier appeal because they were a great Noise Rock band; very experimental and innovative and atonal but they still rocked. A Handful of Dust is sucessful in this approach, extremly succesful, and it's obvious that Gabraith was of great guidance to Russel. Phenomenal music.