Psychic TV/PTV3 - Mr Alien Brain Vs The Skinwalkers

Unsettling and somehow majestic… Guess who?

The audio element of this inventive LP is comprised largely from live-played recordings from a pair of appearances in Brooklyn and Philadelphia in 2007 and ’08 respectively. It is, as you might expect, heavy on the portent: the likes of No Good Trying and Trussed undulate and diffuse with percussive elements atop drones, repeated vocalisations and pleadings to create an atmosphere of on-the-edge, scrawled and occasionally otherwordly artistry somewhere between Throbbing Gristle and the Velvets’ more outré moments. Multi-textured and multi-hued, it’s as difficult to pin down as it is occasionally to listen to, but that’s undoubtedly at least part of the point.

The cast of characters include Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, The Pretty Boys’ Alice Geneses, David XXX Maxxx of The Tadpoles and many other keyboard, sample, percussion and guitar contributors. There are two brand new tracks (The Alien Brain and I Love You, I Know) plus I Am Making A Mirror, which, aside from being on the vinyl version of Hell Is Invisible…, hasn’t previously been made available. There’s also a new mix of New York Story from Michael Gira of Swans, while initial copies come with an additional half-hour DVD of live, on the road and studio PTV3/Psychic TV material.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

Sweet nothing | SNCD 052 (CD+DVD)

Reviewed by Joe Shooman
<< Back to Issue 359

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