Ron Morelli ‘Backpages’
Ron Morelli ‘Backpages’
Hospital Productions, 2013
HOS-406
electronic // techno // industrial // acid
This is the first record in a long time that my wife asked me to turn off. She does that from time-to-time, but it’s not really a regular thing. She’s remarkably patient, and I generally comply when she makes a specific ask.
Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don’t. She particularly can't stand Half Japanese, but otherwise it can be anyone's guess. She can groove on Wolf Eyes and then freak out when something seemingly innocuous but visceral hits her the wrong way.
I think that’s what happened with Ron Morelli’s “Backpages” ep, because her request came at a point in “Rushed Again” when the snares sound like an electrical fire. And I think I can relate — some of the frequencies here can melt your synapses.
On “Backpages” Morelli’s perfected a special brand of hostile techno that’s both ready for the floor and aesthetically sophisticated enough to enjoy on its merits. It’s all kind of unpolished, and there’s a vibe across these four tracks thats’s somewhere between insecurity and discomfort.
Three of these didn’t make the cut on last year's “Spit” lp, and the fourth is an epic, extended mix of “Crack Microbes” that incorporates those same short-circuiting snares and quietly urgent synths in the background. And if that track’s nervous chaos is as complicated this ep gets, “Public Consumption” is where it’s most minimal, making the most of three notes that recall a 70s horror soundtrack. "Rushing Again” is anchored by a woozy throbbing beat that’s surrounded by electrified snares, and “Another Hit” features an incredibly menacing synth line.
Lots of stuff to love here, though everything about this one is uneasy.
Here's the Spotify URL.