COVER IMAGE
2LP released: May 10, 2019

VARIOUS ARTISTS
ALERT
Label: ALTER
Cat No: ALT50
Barcode: 768114914995
Packaging: 2LP

The stark, rattling percussion and morbid howls into the ether of ''Theme 7'' signal not just the return of NAAAHHHH but kick-start Alter's fiftieth release with suspense. ALERT! dredges the depths of grimy UK bedroom studios, old computer hard-drives, and budget lager-soaked gallery sonics in search of presenting a unifying vision of a particular brand of the here and now. Label associates Chain Of Flowers take you deep into hypnotic motorik territory, whilst similarly driving new work from Teresa Winter shows a more frantic side to her productions than 2018's LP for Death of Rave (RAVE 025LP). The underground sound of puddle country shines through with contributions from anarcho. sample-mulch legends Cru Servers and Night School mastermind Apostille. Fellow Glasgow-based Helena Celle delivers an old-school jack trax style rhythm work out alongside The Modern Institute trying their hand at deranged happy hardcore and the finest Mancunian ambient you'll hear all year from Space Afrika. One of the most enthralling moments comes from Raime side project Moin, a claustrophobic, tempo-disregarding marriage of sound that will make you feel like you're lost at sea and seconds away from drowning. Each piece on ALERT! is bound by a distinctly punk attitude, a form of experimentalism that skirts across genre markers and forces you to sit up and pay attention. Zero coffee house easy listening or functionality here -- there's metallic clanging, skittering drums and screeches, tough as nails gabber compression (check the Acolytes track ''Feelings'') and dirge-y guitar feedback all fighting for space in a surprisingly coherent manner. Sound artist and broadcaster Mark Vernon's ''The Object Invoked Has Disconnected From Its Host'' lulls you into quintessentially British, nightmare-inducing radiophonic territories with terrifying fragmented media chatter, making for one of the highlights of the compilation. If anything, we can agree on the fact that this double LP stands to highlight the fringes of carefree, convention defying abstract electronics that currently permeate our little island in an illuminating and necessary way. Also features Anna Peaker, Mosquitoes, Mumdance, and Tomaga. - 01. NAAAHHHH - Theme 7 02. Chain Of Flowers - Oed 03. Teresa Winter - A Free Woman In An Unfree Society Would Be A Monster 04. Anna Peaker - Helicidae 05. Cru Servers - Glumbooth Nitwit 06. Helena Celle - Realtime 07. Mosquitoes - Eraserom 08. Moin - The Boxer 09. Mumdance - Path Of The Seer 10. Tomaga - The Vengeful Eye 11. Acolytes - Feelings 12. The Modern Institute - Dongle Molt Golden Molt Longed Molt Tongued Molt 13. Apostille - It's Not Right 14. Mark Vernon - The Object Invoked Has Disconnected From Its Host 15. Space Afrika - Yuly