by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
There’s never a “good” time to start a record, only the “right” time. 2020 wasn’t the right time for many things but for Iowa’s Nim_Brut label, it was as good a time as any. Specializing in avant-garde punk, noise, post-punk, and the more abrasive realms of experimental music, the label came out swinging last summer with the manipulated noise of Plan Pony. With the detached noise of Carnivorous Plants and the upcoming Health Plan (mems of USA Nails) albums leading 2021 for the label, Nim_Brut are ready to introduce themselves further via Deprived of Occupation and Pleasure We Feast, a compilation of the label’s artists featuring entirely unreleased material.
In addition to the aforementioned Health Plan, Deprived of Occupation… features selections from Hubble. Rusty Santos, Gareth JS Thomas (USA Nails), Obviate Parade, and beyond. Hubble is the long running (and often dormant) solo project of Ben Greenberg (Uniform, Zs, The Men). Nearly a decade since the release of the meditative and ruminative Hubble Eagle via NNA Tapes, Greenberg has returned to the project with “No Cure For The Lonely,” a cover of early 90’s Swans. The original takes a primarily acoustic approach to a bellowing gothic Americana, which Greenberg’s warps into something more alien, and ultimately more engaging. Built on four fingered tapping that feels like the trickle of a rushing river, the song has a languid atmosphere and a feeling of tension. It’s a great introduction into the world of Nim_Brut and the artistic side of aural discomfort.