What an adventure this is. All Horned Animals have taken a massive bite out of the impossible task of documenting Nigel Ayers’ (the man behind Nocturnal Emissions‘ enduring existence) ever-evolving soundscapes.
A compiled reliquary that opens with a bang up-to-date slice of action from Nigel’s 2024 self-release Excavations In Substation. An urgent stream of consciousness to hissy sibilance and mushy drone, his spoken-word crafting fresh and tactile to the droning corridors he’s more well known for.
A descriptive freefall you feel tethered to, sky-lit and wild-eyed, a great opener that the second track soothes in a softly rounded bird cage of reverberating space. Percussive splashes besmirched in crypt-like chorals, a disquieting tendency that nibbles at you throughout the back catalogue and is satisfactorily investigated here. A sense of the familiar, subverted, suitably wrapped in Nigel’s collages that upend the space.
The undulating ambience that soaks in there psychically syncs / sinks deep. The shuffling sand dance of intrigue that is “Night Sky” and its text-to-speech synthesis, the soft unpickings of “Nonsite Observatory” or “Wise Wounds”’ dance of fraying textures. Dark and mysterious atmospheres I’ve always loved, their searching whispers and skin-slipping potency that leave you grabbing for fading impressions.
“Sealing A Phase” is another World Is My Womb highlight, drifting triumphantly in heraldic abundance. “Re-enacting creation myths for this generation” vocals ripe with alchemic symmetries, slippery in the soothing suck of reversed spillage and rough-cut synthesis. The whispery hypnosis of “Rusting Shells” finds the much-missed Caroline K and Ayers in a duelling duet that quietly explodes in enriched simplicity, as if a spell, caught on the slumbering rim of a closing eye; a vivid butterfly that I’m hearing for the very first time (don’t you just love it when that happens?).
The media-meddling “Sperm Count” from Befehlsnotstand, its swooping missiles and scuttering percussives a nod to Nocturnal Emissions’ noisier beginnings, sharing kinship with another early track. “When Were You Last in Control of Your Dreams and Aspirations ?” from Tissue Of Lies, an ever-so clever poke at the enslaving establishment, wallowing in full on DIY merit. The next track a rousing call from the mid-nineties for you to “Never Give Up” on your dreams; another triumphant hymn to personal identity / creativity and something I’ve been lucky enough to see live, Nigel ruling the room, everybody swaying along to this rousing anthem.Next the time blurring lubrications of “Golgotha” off Golgotha From Omphalos turn succinctly full circle to terminate on another spoken-word cypher called “A Small Rectangle”, extracted from Excavations In Substation.
Reports Of Debris is a fascinating compilation teaser that opens a door to a vast sound world that you’ll find difficult to close.-Michael Rodham-Heaps-
