A Closer Listen
Today we wrap up our coverage of Inner Demons Records‘ massive 33-release batch, which is a good time to point out that the label has already released a bunch of EPs and albums since then. There’s just no stopping this Tampa, Florida powerhouse! Today’s installment covers the last eleven in the alphabetical batch, as previewed in the sampler.
Morein‘s “Witch Sector” begins with watery sounds, an uncomfortable reminder of the fate of medieval witches. The centerpiece of Upon Thy Cattle is the 15-minute “The Fifth Plague,” which recalls the work of Shinjuku Thief’s The Witch Trilogy. We’re off to a strong start already. Platanoff‘s Russian World is dark, industrial and militaristic, a reflection of the horrors of the invasion and the military-industrial complex. Polarlicht‘s Volume 2 is described as the second “out of (hopefully) 92 volumes,” which we would think unreachable, until we remember that this equals three Inner Demons batches.
One of the more specific recordings is R4‘s Rainmaker, sourced from field recordings of a spring shower. At the start of the second track, one can hear the quietude of the original recording, which in the first becomes an electronic deluge, in the third an amplified downpour. Scrapping Young Bucks‘ O is another outlier, the title track one of the more melodic pieces in the batch, nestled next to the perky electronic “The Monster Smiled” on the EP, which ends in a punkish groove.
We’re not sure if we can take such brightness, as the previous releases have enabled our ears to adjust to the dark. It comes as a strange relief that the next track on the sampler begins with the words, “All this darkness rests on me like a yoke upon my shoulders.” Shadow Echo Canyon‘s A Daymare Reality is a savage set that mirrors the current sociopolitical climate; it’s difficult to find light, or even believe that it exists. But then Sorkom‘s “Seytan” pounces from the speakers in an explosion of drums and electronics, begging one to dance to the techno-trance. All four tracks defy the expectations produced by the drone of the previous releases, but by remaining foreboding, these club cuts remain drone-adjacent. It’s worth pointing out that the sonic variety of Batch 2024B increases the deeper one heads into the alphabet.
The noise returns with a vengeance of Stolen Light‘s Unprepared Guitar, which IS prepared guitar; Inner Demons dwells in contradictions. How else might one explain Stormhat‘s Everything Will Pass, which deliberately mixes “the calming and the disturbing, the unpleasantness and the bliss”? After the dissonance, the artist ends the album with the bucolic “Birds in the Forest and a Plane,” a field recording that seems to emphasize the album’s title. Sven Phalanx‘s Navigation continues to widen the sonic field with the rare Inner Demons use of voice, and There Are Ghosts sets the stage for October 31 with rattles, rustlings and heartbeats, taking full advantage of the stereo field.
If one is looking for Halloween music, there’s plenty to find here, more than one release for every October night. But Inner Demons isn’t just about fear, or even disturbance. The label’s music is a reminder that it’s okay to feel disillusioned, disjointed and disconnected; that we all have inner demons, and that it’s better to recognize them than to deny them; even to make peace with them. None of these 33 artists try to cheer the listener up, but they still end up offering solace in their realistic way; and this sense of authenticity is the label’s greatest strength. (Richard Allen)
Sat Oct 12 00:01:45 GMT 2024