Jason W. Walton - Mara - 7

Labels: Red Orchard
Review by: Alex Deller

Jason W. Walton you may or may not know from bands like Agalloch, Sculptured and Self Spiller, and herein he concocts some bleak electronic noise that explores a range of negative emotions. ‘Alp’ gathers itself with chilly swells and distant, tunnel-bound mutterings before ramping up the tension with erratic percussive clatters and a gradual intensification of sound. ‘Yakshi’ seems to have been carved from black-edged static and funnelled through an endless chrome tube, the noise punctured by raw, lung-scraping vocal exhortations which are occasionally decipherable (“you fucked up everythingggg!”) but more often not. Though the two sides are wholly different they complement each other perfectly, making for an experience that’s as draining as it is compelling despite its relatively brief duration.