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Saturday, August 18, 2007

Big Nurse American Waste 12"

so the 1st high-density release was released in either in late 2004, American Waste 12". ltd. to 200 copies.
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REVIEWS

To kick us off this time, is the war zone noise of Big nurse (www.highdensityheadache.tk) whose debut 12 Runnin With The Devil / DXM is the sound of the Butthole Surfers crashing into Acid Mother Temple in a sleazy punk club, everything louder than everything else and all the better for it. A lovely slab of thick black vinyl and well worth owning.

(Ptolemaic Terrascope, UK. lead review in 'Rumbles' section.)



"There is still nothing like a full teenage* freakazoid noise and distortion blowout over the length of two album sides. That kind of fresh and uninhibited approach to music by fucking it all up always comes off nicely and full of energy and youthful spirit. This has to be 80-90 % improvised and sounds like a whole lot of fun on a stage as well as in their rehearsal room (if the electric wiring holds out).

Of course I got that little word play in Big Nurse’s bandname and no it is not a hint at Big Star, Big Chief, Big Black or Big Bad Motorfinger. Well, maybe the last has something to it, but the connection might not be clearly available at all times. Even if I guess I mangled that up big time. Well, let’s better stop the joking around, though tomfoolery (I just looked that word up) might be a big part of what Big Nurse is all about. Just take a look at the name of their record label, for which this album is release number one. I have a lot of trouble to imagine anybody to take this kind of music too seriously, except if they are from china, have studied art and are constantly playing galleries and exhibitions. But the art seriousness usually kills the spirit and the energy off. I don’t want to discuss the political implications and societal connotations of somebody trashing his electric guitar into his amps when all it is about are the great and beautiful sounds that omits. Today is our national celebrational day so the military is having a parade and just about half an hour ago helicopters, freight planes and jet fighters flew close over our house and even though I don’t like the army and I am a pacifist at heart, well at least mainly, I still enjoy those sounds enormously. The all encompassing thunder and air-solidifying waves of 100 gallons of fuel buring in jetplane-turbine every minute. And I enjoy this trashing, kicking and pounding noise freak out on “American Waste”.

Big Nurse’s wall of sound is not as dense and all-encompassing as that of a fighter plane of course. Their noise drips over the sides of the turntable like thick sludge, drums pound away behind a jungle of effects and noises and at times somebody is screaming something into a mic. I wouldn’t call this psychedelic as such, though it definitely has elements of a longwinded bad trip. If you are able to figure out the jokes behind the songtitles: “Runnin with the devil” (which is side A) and “DMX” (which is side B) you might also find yourself way too deep in the realm of Big Nurse already.

I am not afraid to say that I have no idea or knowledge about this band, but I respect their daring endeavour of self-releasing this monster (saleswise) and then sending it over the ocean to our place that I will step aside my usual rule and tack down some info from the sheet they’ve sent along: They have toured with bands completely unknown around here and they will release a seven inch and a split-CD with another completely unknown band / project. If names like Divine Pile, Ari Ari, Mattoid or Realicide say anything to you, you are welcome to write us a line and recommend yourself as a future reviewer. Especially if you know who Harry Pussy and Brian Ruryk were. Hell yes, we’d need some help at times. Anybody does. Big Nurse for instance haven’t found distribution yet. So how will you be able to get this record? Try bignurseband@hotmail.com and find out.

*) Yeah, it is obvious that these guys aren’t teenagers as such, i.e. over 20 years old, but that word sounded so good in the context I had to put it in there. I could have found some excuses now, such as that they might be over 20 but act as if they were younger, but I tell it like it is." _http://www.monochrom.at/cracked/reviews/reviews01.htm

Big Nurse-American Waste LP
The label name for Big Nurse's American Waste is fittingly named. Aside from the pretty, silk-screened artwork, both sides of this LP were headache-inducing noise. Completely deconstructed, complete musical gibberish, agitated, a stare-into-space-stoned-out-of-your-mind-before-you-kill-someone record. (AJA) _punk planet

This was a random LP/twelve inch that was just sent to my flat addressed to No Pictures last summer, something which I have to admit freaked me out because I have no idea as to just where they got my current address from. Hmmm........

Big Nurse are something of a terrifying proposition, a pulsing and repetitive excretion of sheet metal white noise all in the name of ferocity. Upon first listen a person could be forgiven for dismissing this as just noise and they would be right but it is also so much more.

The sounds coming from stereo (people please send me vinyl and more of it!) reminds me of recent acts I have seen such as Chris Corsano and Rocket No 9, improv infused monsters looking to push boundaries further and further with each onslaught and performance. This music comes straight out of the heart of Sun Ra whilst being conceived and performed by/from standards set out by punk. As the first side of the record comes to an end sound akin to the din made by a cutlery drawer falling down several flights of stairs of a council building, I make myself a cup of tea and ask God "just what else can I expect from this act now?"

I think American Waste is the perfect title for this record; the heady din is very industrial, like a factory in the middle of nowhere producing the middle of nothing, a pointless industry that can seemingly only be found in downsized America and the broken working classes. The pain I feel from this record is akin to the latest worker to miss a meal through failing to have employment. The whistles on the record say it all.

Side two begins with more drilling and a relentless patter exhibiting much more energy than the previous slab - imagine Lightning Bolt covering "Revolution" by Spaceman 3 and suddenly we are live from Planet Load Records. Out the blocks however, the "tune" does not sustain and again the assault becomes overwhelming and difficult to live with, which is exactly the kind of response you suspect Big Nurse wish to treat you with on a big scale. As a Dick Dale sound-alike subtly invades the "song" towards the close it all ends with a painful crash and I am able to go back to my life (and watching "How To Look Good Naked"). If you need a party cleared soon, this is the record to do it with.

I will never play this record ever again.

Thesaurus moment: throbbing. _diskant.net

Big Nurse- American Waste LP - One big massive track per side. Side A is: Runnin with the Devil which hums, howls, bashes, and thrums over layers of what sounds like harps and gigantic brass angels unhinging their wings. Sorta Dead C lost at sea, adrift and tattered. Side B is: DXM which is loud and hammered suspense like early Sonic Youth that unwinds into a vast grid of planted seeds that rapidly grow into geometric patterns across the landscape in every direction that can only be read from outer space. Side B is a bit more of a bumpy ride; they call it turbulence but it feels like falling for 30 feet and then stopping abruptly enough to spill your drink.

(Dream Magazine)

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