Moth Cock, the Kent, Ohio based electro-acoustic duo of Doug Gent and Pat Modungo, have been bringing their oblique, richly textured improvisations on tour throughout the Midwest and northeast for a few years now, tickling and pleasing the eardrums of fans of underground noise, free- jazz, and electronic rhythmic music alike along the way. This tape, released on the Chicago based label Hausu Mountain is a ripe new document of the band’s electronic experiments, and provides a good sense of what the band’s recent live shows might be like. During a Moth Cock set, Modungo characteristically applies live processing through effects and loop-pedals to Gent’s clarinet playing and his own trumpet playing, which results in the broken and oddly groovy sonic zones that the group is known for. The two sidelong improvisations that grace this tape certainly don’t stray from that formula, and the pieces are a rapid fire progression of each new loop taking shape, developing to the degree of static chaos, and then giving way to the next one, each textural space more compelling and ominous then the next. Some of the angular beats that drop in during the madness really spice things up, and kind of seem like the weird hip-hop that might fuel the dance-floors of alien societies. This tape for the most part is pretty rhythmic, but there are some “ambient” moments (particularly on the second side), that are kind of, um, beautiful. Some samples make appearances on the second side as well, and this I think might be new territory for these guys but either way, both the sounds and the playing on this recording are really good. As a whole, this is an experience that really sets a vibe and paints a landscape, if you know what I mean. Listen in, trip hard.