Dental Work - "Fruit of Lebanon" 7" (Love Earth Music/Placenta)

Beulah, MI is a small village of approximately 3000 people in the northwestern part of the state. Its main attraction is Crystal Lake, a small lake near Lake Michigan, making it a seasonal getaway for many Michigan residents. Somehow, Jay Watson, the owner and proprietor of Placenta Recordings, creates the twisted noise of Dental Work in this family-oriented small town.

For this lovely outing, side A presents the title track, an exercise in feedback tone that sounds a bit like an unplugged 1/4-inch cable through various effects. The sounds are focused and controlled however, each step obviously intended to culminate in the abrupt end.

“Fever Zone,” on side B, is much harsher, static squelches rise and fall amid short segments of music, giving the track an almost radio-gone-wrong quality. Perhaps this is what aliens hear when they tune into an earth broadcast from outer space – brief snippets of songs interrupted by volumes of interference. It’s a bit like slowly scanning the dial of a shortwave radio, trying to reach that transmission, but just missing it every time.

This is yet another fine example of the top-notch noise released by LEM over the past few years. Turn it up loud and make your neighbors nervous.