Prurient

It should fly in the face of reason that an artist working within the noise genre could release such a high output of resourceful music. As contemporaries Whitehouse and Wolf Eyes remain faithful to their black magick, Ian Fernow has used noise as an ashy template to explore endless musical avenues. On his first release of 2013, Fernow (aka Prurient) serves up sampler of genre excursions with three-track LP Through the Window. The titular opener follows an echo-y, replicating, (almost) dance-y synth line through grinding, low-end atmosphere, ominous whispers and throbbing beats. "Terracotta Spine" reverts back to Prurient's black metal flirtations, pushing a lagging, crunching rhythm through tunnelling vocals. But it's closer "You Show Great Spirit" that demonstrates Fernow moving towards unclaimed territory, allowing keyboard melodies and insecticide beats to topple each other, crafting a sound that's both sonically spacious and dense. Through the Window might finally allow Fernow's critics to move past the "noise" label, because in his mind, he's been beyond that for years.