- If you're primary reference points for technoise are Vatican Shadow, Container and Pete Swanson, then the dance-pop comprising Seasons of Nudity will surely have you scratching your head in bewilderment. This split 12-inch is without question one of the oddest releases the movement has yet to cough up: an audacious, and at times perverse, foray into mainstream club tropes that shares with noise music virtually nothing save a knack for radically upending listener expectation.
The better of the two sides belongs to Meager Sunlight. Cofounded by Jeremy Harris (who under the moniker Lazy Magnet has explored everything from power electronics to basement techno), the New England duo specialize in homemade diva-disco that's best described as Chris Bennett-era Munich Machine filtered through the most saccharine song Sweden has ever submitted to Eurovision. Harris' partner Daryl Seaver handles vocals, and she's a real ice queen. On "Trouble Is Nothing," the first of two tracks, she soars with laser-guided precision high above bombastic arppegios, big-room beats and a thick yet supple bassline.
Skeleton Warrior's side, in contrast, is way more lo-fi, goofball and retro (which isn't a surprise, considering the group's noise-punk roots). All three songs are reminiscent of the cheesy synth-pop heard on television cartoons and video games in the early '90s. Granted, "Gizeldra's Love Affair" possesses a geeky absurdity that will surely appeal to those out there who worship at the altar of Sockeye. Ultimately, though, Skeleton Warrior isn't doing a whole lot that proto-technoise weirdoes Extreme Animals did with significantly greater degrees of verve and craft—however demented.
TracklistA1 Meager Sunlight - Trouble Is Nothing
A2 Meager Sunlight - The Hound
B1 Skeleton Warrior - Gizeldra's Love Affair
B2 Skeleton Warrior - Executive D.
B3 Skeleton Warrior - Monster's Face