Three One G Records

The Bastard Noise contribution to this split 12” finds them in a deep, murky silence of various noise strains and warm electronics floating up from the darkness like phosphorescent jellyfish before sinking back down again. It’s a glorious, spacey quiet turn for a band well-loved for its cranial-drill aural warfare.

The two Bastard Noise tracks here, “Red Elephant” and “Reduced to Dry Weight,” are on the ambient side and the result is hypnotic and unsettling—something like the sound of space if space had a sound detectable to the human ear. These twenty some-odd minutes are beautiful, gripping, and weird—like the strangest, best IMAX soundtrack to a documentary about poachers being hunted in the wild by heroic animals.

Geronimo’s side of this split feels like the heavier cousin of the Bastard Noise tracks. Heavier, of the same spirit, like-minded, “Voice of the Satellite” and “Western Exterminator” are as slow as land masses moving, grim as time, harsh, spectral, and minimal.

There’s a special magic to everything Geronimo puts out; their work instantly and unmistakably feels like Geronimo Music and makes a lot of other music seem unadventurous, unsure, bland, and samey.

Is “samey” a word? My spellcheck says no, but I’m gonna call it a word and restate the idea: Geronimo is one of the most startlingly original bands on this planet and their work has a transformative quality that makes so many other artists sound like faceless, purposeless clones. Samey.

This split 12” was released by Three One G seven years ago today. It will always feel timeless because it is entirely unique. Happy birthday to it. – Adam Gnade (11/5/20)

Live photos by Becky DiGiglio