by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Noise rock comes in all shapes and forms, occupying spaces both creeping and bludgeoning, but always abrasive. Sometimes the best way to truly view the scope of sonic assault is to pair two wildly different takes on the genre together, which Retratando Voces have done with their latest release, a split 12” between the UK’s Don’t Try and Black Ribbon. While one is based in the low-end grit of noise rock dirt, the other takes an electronic approach, but both are equally obliged to demolish eardrums in their own unique vision.
Don't Try offer "Melancholy Chapters," a brooding and pulsating industrial tinged rush that floats over a monotonous drone. The rhythm cracks and punches with cold machine like emphasis, careening a sense of structure into the thick flood of the guitar's burnt Earth crawl. Everything is covered in the noise, but the vocals and beat provide shape and resistance, slowly permeating all in its colossal path. Black Ribbon's "Interception" goes a more traditionally electronic route, tinkering with jagged bursts that feel picked and pulled in every direction. It's as sharp and pointed in a robotic fashion, every vocal line detached and distorted. There's an undeniable groove that is... dare I say, funky... the noisy post-punk boogie warped and bubbling all the way.