NYC-based lo-fi beatmaker GUT NOSE drops in with a message full of dystopian mystique on his new album FILTHY CITY. Released obyn Brooklyn label Styles Upon Styles (check out Sleazegrinder’s write up of GUT NOSE’s earlier 2014 release on the same label), FILTHY CITY is part of the label’s Bangers & Ash series of 12 inches, which asks artists to produce two distinct sides, “fried and energized on the A and B, respectively.” By taking his tape and sample based technique to bear on each theme, Gut Nose has made a thickly atmospheric record.
Gut Nose doesn’t stick to a single style, as much as draw on different ones, including hip-hop and house. The tracks on side A tend to begin and end in a cloud of ambient noise, interjected with downtempo grooves that strut through smoky urban nether-reaches, invoking the patchwork diversity of sounds and musical styles to be heard “out there” on any given night. The second side, beginning with “Weeknight Shuttle Bus,” follows a similar form and vibe, but tells you right off the bat with its throbbing groove that it’s getting up and going places. The side ends with the twisted carnival freakshow “Corrosive.” Together the two sides make a complementary whole, despite their sharp contrast in energies.
Recorded in two separate live takes, this is very much alive and expansive music. It seems to dialogue with sounds of the past and of the future for inspiration, while keeping a foot firmly planted in the present, in sum creating a pretty dope aesthetic. It’s also got some sick cover art, which could be an added incentive for getting the hand-packaged and limited-edition LP over the digital download.