For two guys, Noteherder & McCloud sure make one helluva racket.
Culled from live recordings, South Coast Lines is a bewildering exploration into territory formerly tread by the likes of Throbbing Gristle, NON and Sun Ra. Over eight tracks, ranging from one to four minutes long, the duo redefines music by smashing it into a bloody pulp and feasting on the remains. Noteherder, aka Chris Parfitt blares on his soprano sax though various effects, creating an echo of shimmering glass that ripples through the electronics of Geoff Reader, aka McCloud. It’s like Boyd Rice did and album with The Master Musicians of Jajouka or John Butcher got trapped in the TARDIS with Nik Turner. Electronics pulse and vibrate, augmented by the reed’s maniacal performance. The music of Saturn comes alive in a mini-CD, a communication to us earthlings from the ringed giant.
Jazz, noise – it’s all the same now, part of a grand cyber framework created out of modernity. Old technology cavorts with new as our lives become ever more tech oriented. It’s not a bad change, just an adjustment, and Noteherder & McCloud point the way.
