Making Orange Things

Making Orange Things is the result of an Internet collaboration between Canadian Aaron Funk (aka Venetian Snares) and U.K. noise-addict Speedranch. From the get go, sonic assault is the goal. While it's hard to call anything on the album a melody, pleasant musical flourishes are buried beneath the squalid walls of noise. Bits of mad Caustic Window screeching nestle violently alongside loads of Skinny Puppy-style cut-and-paste sample trickery and V/Vm hatchetry, but everything seems centered in a sense of play. Though it's not necessarily innovative, the album is relentless in its adherence to a raging noise ethic. "We Hate Russell" and "Pay Me for Sex" are prime examples of their modus operandi, as repetitive samples are distorted to the breaking point amid a battering drill'n'bass effects storm. The latter even features a Nivek Ogre sound-alike. Midway through the album, the duo starts ripping apart country-pop tunes, famous Michael Jackson guitar riffs, and hair metal vocals, and that's when things get truly breathtaking. "Molly's Reach Around," with its addictive bass and demonic sound effects, is a genius slice of dark anarchy. Somehow the aggressive nature of the album never feels overbearing, and all 40 minutes make for edge-of-your-seat listening, as one constantly wonders what dark alleys or soundscapes are around the next turn. Making Orange Things is as violent and fascinating as Venetian Snares' glorious Songs About My Cats, and listeners who like to be punished, or who like to punish those in proximity to their stereo, will revel in the brilliant chaos at work here.