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Hyper Gal — Pure
(Skin Graft GR157, 2021/2024, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2024-07-21

Pure Cover art

Pure is a 28-minute blast of noise from a duo called Hyper Gal. Kurumi Kadoya plays drums and synthesizer while Koharu Ishida uses her voice, sometimes singing and at other times shouting. A minimalist aesthetic rules the day, with simple drum patterns and repeating keyboard lines, all run through aggressive distortion. When I say “minimalist” I’m not kidding. “Domestic Utopia” starts out with a steady hi-hat playing 16th notes for a full 30 seconds before anything else happens — a brief blast of other drums so distorted it’s hard to tell what they are. That same 30-second cycle happens four times before adding a pounding drum on every downbeat while Ishida chants rhythmically. I think the Japanese title translates as “Laundry,” and the whole piece evokes the kind of repetition that fills much of everyday life — imagine being stuck in a laundromat with nothing to do but watch the clothes go round. One could ask, “Why should I spend seven minutes of my life listening to the musical equivalent of watching clothes in a washer?” That’s a valid question, and to be fair many people would answer, “I wouldn’t.” But there is a kind of meditative numbness to the experience that can produce satisfaction if you’re in the right frame of mind. Many of the tracks feature synthesizer sounds in addition to the drums and vocals, and I don’t know if a sequencer or a looper is involved, but these are bright, abrasive patterns that change even less than your average Philip Glass piece. Hyper Gal is intense and energetic, sonically overwhelming in a very deliberate way. Most of the artists who fall into the “noise rock” category will assault listeners with massive guitar distortion, and Pure is a welcome change from that. Being able to understand the words would likely add another dimension to Hyper Gal’s music, but it also works as a very loud enigma.

Filed under: Reissues, 2024 releases, 2021 recordings

Related artist(s): Hyper Gal

More info
http://hypergal.bandcamp.com/album/pure

 

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