Review

Aether, Janice Fears Dogsand (2023

The human voice is a deeply subjective instrument. By that I mean that is intensely individual in how it is expressed but also how it is received. Aether’s Janice Fears Dogsand starts with an intake of breath but it’s not long before this is replaced by screaming. Shadowing this is harsh noise – dynamic and arbitrary blasts time and pitch shifted – which threatens to overwhelm the presence of the voice. At times it feels like voice and noise are engaged in combat, at others they seem to merge then split. The voice attempts to hold everything together, drifting in and out, made up of wordless vocalisations, screams, grunts, sobbing, and laughter that emphasise the physicality of sounds produced by the body. This voice isn’t a neutral medium for signification: it is significant in and of itself. The second track, “Shitfaced Bohemian” (great title) commences with a Ramones-style “1-2-3-4” before we’re overcome by a wave of jarring sounds, drums and cymbals, and what might be double-tracked vocals (but then again, may not; this is part of what makes this album so fascinating and affective). The first three tracks are shortish; the final track, “Junkyard Aktion” (another great title) clocks in at just over 24 minutes. Grinding, buzzing noise predominates, but it may (or may not) be the voice heavily processed and distorted. The whole album is a perfect example of what underground filmmaker/artist/musician Kembra Pfaler called “availabilism” – creating something from whatever is around you, from what is present. There are few things more available or present than the body and the voice. Released by the inestimable Pittsburg label Black Ring Rituals as digital album and limited-edition cassette.