Do not adjust your volume. Despite a roster of luminaries from the Chicago metal and avant-garde scene, including Jef Whitehead (Leviathan), Sanford Parker (Minsk, Twilight), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Drew Markuszewski (ex-Nachtmystium, Avichi), and jazz cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, this project from visual artist JR Robinson starts off squarely on the noise/drone end of the extreme spectrum. But don’t worry – even though You’ve Always Meant So Much to Me begins quietly, it doesn’t stay that way. It builds until, a little over halfway through, it erupts into crashing, monumental doom, and you finally understand why Robinson brought in all those monsters of metal. Apparently there’s a visual component, but we don’t have that; we do, however, have a premiere of the full (single track) debut of Wrekmeister Harmonies. So put on your headphones, close your eyes, and prepare to be forcefully transported to the land of the ice and snow.
[Sorry, you missed it! Check out this music video instead, though – it’s pretty cool.]
***This LP-only release is pressed on virgin vinyl and presented in a super deluxe old-style tip-on gatefold jacket with exclusive artwork from Simon Fowler (Sunn O))), Boris, Earth, Wolves in the Throne Room). It comes out on June 11, courtesy of Thrill Jockey, but you can preorder it here
