Noel Meek - Living in the Time of the Golden Circle (2015)

After some compilation tracks, an ace 8” lathe cut of drones, and collaborative work as part of FANZ, Noel Meek puts out his first solo full length on his own tape label in Auckland. New Zealand’s DIY underground has certainly maintained its unique sonic personality - gnarled, harsh and bathed in analogue hiss, and yet energised by a fervent punk energy while beaming rainbows of psychedelic colour from all angles - and Noel Meek embodies it all here, adding his own almost childlike twist to things in the process. Living In The Time Of The Golden Circle was seemingly concocted like the work of a mad scientist, chaotically wielding loopers, fuzz pedals, small keyboards and assorted electronics like he’s brewing up chemical cocktails. Opener ‘Spinning In Sand’ duels a pair of fuzzed out Casio-harpsichord tracks over various glitchy noises and burning organ drones. The likes of Birchville Cat Motel can spend a good twenty minutes building their noisy workouts to the levels of lo-fi satori Meek hits in a mere three or two here. In fact it’s perhaps his relative succinctness that defines his work. Even on the longer tunes like the nine minute ‘Save Petrol, Burn Cars’ - distant submerged bangings in the background and another pair of luminescent keyboards fuzzily gliding their way between a small handful of notes at random - he gets by with a sparing blend of relatively little. Less certainly is more (except when it comes to those fuzz pedals). Though intoxicating to listen to, the tape barely shifts from Meek’s playful aesthetic mix of sounds, never quite diving deep into darkness or succumbing to the dreamworld prettiness. The sparring organ lines of ‘Maps Of Maps’ are the closest proceeding get to gothic, while the menagerie of woozy synths on ‘Every Colour Is Bad’ almost comically brings to mind Pac Man’s ghost buddies, and closing track ‘Electric Jerusalem’ amasses a dense ocean of bobbing fuzz, eastern tones, and randomised sitar notes. Meek’s workshop of noises is epic fun, and his debut collection of mini noise ragas winds up being far more inviting than anything so damn weird has the right to be.