geoff mullen

Armory Radio

Geoff Mullen has been an artist I've been enamoured with ever since I first managed to place both hands on his debut album 'Thrtysxtrllnmnfstns' on Keith Fullerton Whitman's killer Entschuldigen label, and since then he's gone from strength to strength. Experimenting in the noise field but exhibiting a tendency to take his productions deep into the realms of melody and harmony, Mullen has reached a high water mark with this latest double LP issued on the Barge imprint, a label who might not release a hell of a lot but when they do you can be sure it's something rather special indeed. And special this is, bringing together all the themes we've previously heard in his music to come up with something coherent and hugely enjoyable. The album is split into four distinct parts (sides of course, being a vinyl album) and each side seems to explore a different angle, the first being more symphonic, the second noisy and feedback-laden, the third deep and droning and the fourth deeply experimental. There's hardly a shortage of noisy experimental albums around at the moment but as I noted before there's something about Mullen's production that sets him apart from the 'scene'. 'Armory Radio' doesn't fit into the Providence scene, it's not as angry as the Hospital Records output and it's not as abrasive as Merzbow's back catalogue, yet Mullen takes influence from all of this and more, always keeping sight of structure and a sense of originality and creativity. The album never seems rushed or reactionary like so many noise records, rather there is the sense that Mullen has taken time sculpting these epic pieces and the time translates itself into the most unusual of beauties. This is an album that grows slowly over time, that needs to be heard while you aren't concerning yourself with any other pursuits, just you and the music, allowing yourself to glean all its many subtleties. It's a flawless record and should appeal to anyone looking for a little more flavour with their noise...