Wreck and Reference - "Black Cassette" (2011) [Self-released]

So I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before on here, but I'm not very into this whole "noise" thing. Yes, I understand and respect the importance of musicians like Masami Akita with his Merzbow project and all of John Wiese's tongue-in-cheek sonic explorations, but, in the end, I can't ever truly see myself sitting down and enjoying it on my own time. However, I absolutely adore elements of noise in non-noise bands. The sonic intricacies of the style add heaps of interest to now-tired genres like black metal, post-hardcore, drone, and, in the case of one Wreck and Reference, doom metal.

Wreck and Reference's "Black Cassette," while using the noise as sort of a buffer, the crackling guitars and sample-heavy synthesizers imbue the recording with a bit of personality that is lost with the "perfect" sound of most modern albums, reinforcing the "human element" in music of which I love so very much. Gigantic, triumphant drums act as the backbone for the loud, fuzzy instrumentation while distant, despondent, disembodied voices fill in the void. Though people can obviously describe this as a slow, sad Shellac or Young Widows, the band that comes to mind whenever I listen to this recording is Connecticut's mighty Have a Nice Life. Everything is gloomy and ghost-like, almost as if the vestiges of an older recording remained ringing in your speakers, haunting the listener with its creaking, lost tones.

So, have Wreck and Reference made the cut with their "Black Cassette"? Well, I certainly have fallen in love with this short recording and am eagerly awaiting anything more they might release. Heck, I'm about ready to shell out the $5 to order this, especially because it is limited to 50 copies; I don't think I'd ever forgive myself for passing this up. For those of us who don't have the money, the mp3s are graciously available for free from their Bandcamp, so be sure to at least give this one a listen!

-Jon