At a time when experimental artists are constantly churning out new music, it is curious to find some that take their time. Rachel and Roxann Spikula might not be the most prolific creatives, but when they make an appearance, it is worth paying attention. The twin sisters have performed in Towering Heroic Dudes and Boyzone, but it is their own project, Relay for Death, that digs deeper into the experimental realm. The newest entry in their discography, Mutual Consuming, is actually an earlier recording of two tracks that appeared on their label's, Helen Scarsdale Agency, On Corrosion compilation (featuring many more greats, like She Spread Sorrow, Himukalt, and Neutral). But the strength of these compositions warrants them to stand on their own.
The principal focus is that of a haunted world and its shifting manifestations. The opening track, "Intone The Morph Orb," is a study in tension. The drones tug against each other like collapsing beams, one decaying mass straining to overtake the other. It feels like an abandoned hospital, or the basement of a long-forgotten factory where the machines might have stopped, but their workings still echo through time and space. In that sense, it recalls both works of early industrial masters, like Nurse with Wound or the more minimal side of Coil, but there is also something from William Basinski's experiments on sonic, physical disintegration.
Where the first track solidified the ambiance, "Terminal Ice Wind" establishes the ritual. There is a ceremonial essence here, a strange procession that takes place through this abandoned, but still alive, space. The procession here is unpredictable, its patterns abrupt and disruptive. Noise and distortion become central components, their harsh presence disturbing the quasi-serenity that "Intone The Morph Orb" sets. Suddenly, oscillator beams adorn the soundscapes, while subtle noise artifacts create a busier tapestry. Sporadic bursts of energy echo through these dark corridors, like wails of some unknown entity. Finally, the faraway industrial dimension produces fragments of its solid form. But they remain an echo through time, a memory of what once was, that is now corrupted and altered.
It is the sign of sonic mastery to be able to produce a work like Mutual Consuming. Relay for Death take us on a journey through strange soundscapes, ambient passages, and post-industrial abandonment. It is a work depicting a world deserted, where it is not so much ghosts or spirits that remain, but memories eroded and corrupted by time.
