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It’s a safe bet to say that Portland, Oregon’s Yellow Swans make something akin to scary-ass electronic nightmare music. On their latest label release (aside from countless self-made CDRs), the duo of Pete Swanson and Gabriel Mindel Saloman go for broke with terrorizing and scathingly cold noise sandwiched between suspenseful minimalist soundscapes and dark techno-ambience. Comparatively speaking, the aggressively dark approach Swans have employed ranks up there with the latest wave in nihilistic American black metal, so it’s no real surprise that Secession was recorded and mixed by Daniel Voss, known for his previous work with black metal genius Leviathan. One hell of a frightening and engaging piece of work.
Yellow Swans play Sneaky Dee’s Monday (September 25).