Bleep

Karl O Connor’s Downwards imprint eases into its third decade of releases with the first solo release from Chicago duo Talker, backed with a ‘restruction’ from the label owner. A-side ‘Cut The Weight’ is a brilliant slice of atmospheric industrial techno, with obsessive metallic percussion hitting hard yet allowing space for clanging reverbs to form. ‘Black Snake’ ups the tempo, with gun-fire distorted tom-toms tearing at the ears, but the highlight is the introspective closer ‘Carrier’, where a destroyed chord sequence comes off like a cross between My Bloody Valentine and Throbbing Gristle.