by Jonathan Mottola (@screamo_enjoyer)
Massachusetts has, for a long time now, been home to an impressive amount of noise acts and bands that manage to shine through in a highly saturated world of basement shows and niche DIY circles. Mutual Aid Records is a Massachusetts-based DIY label that is dedicated to highlighting hidden gems in niche and alternative music, much of these artists being based in the Northeastern United States as well. One of the more recent releases on Mutual Aid is a wildly experimental split between two of these bands, Rong and The Cost ov Living, who are currently active in the Massachusetts scene.
The Rong side of this split is a chaotic seven minutes that combine no-wave and noise rock with elements of hardcore, mathcore, and screamo. The guitar-driven band utilizes noise by way of twangy, discordant, and technical riffs and, at times, drawing from precursors of the sassy no-wave genre like The Locust. The addition of cut up samples also add to the noise element of their side of the split, and separate the chaos of the two tracks into distinct movements. In true noise-rock fashion, the vocals vary from a sort of lethargic wail to high shrieks and screams similar to noisecore bands like Jerome’s Dream (in the “Seeing Means More” era). This side of the split is fast, unnerving, a little bit scary, and a whole lot of fun, and with just two songs, Rong proves to be one of the most sonically daring and experimental bands that hardcore has seen in a long time.
The Cost ov Living, on the other hand, displays an influence that lands much closer to harsh noise, but utilizes those noisier elements in a way that is very rhythmic and atmospheric. Present at times are doom-laden sensibilities and percussion similar to artists like The Body, while vocals are used in a way that adds texture to their tracks, almost like another synthesizer. The second track on The Cost ov Living’s side of the split, titled “Nothing That Exists,” is full of disembodied percussion and vocals and a haunting cavernous reverb that fits this project right in with contemporary dark ambient projects like Gnaw Their Tongues. The synthesizer work on this track is much more sparse and every moment feels deliberate and calculated, with squealing feedback and harsh white-noise-like static playing over a lethargic drum beat, which really adds to a sense of urgency or anxiety within the piece. In short, these two tracks show dramatically different sides of the project and showcase the range and sonic diversity within the harsh noise scene at present.
This split showcases two highly impressive noise-adjacent acts that are active in the Massachusetts underground right now, and shows the sheer range and diversity of the genre that exists at its core and unites them. If you are a noise freak yourself and this split sounds interesting to you, you can (and should) pick up a copy of the CDr from Mutual Aid Records as soon as possible.