Dog Swamp Residents Association - Agnoiology

Released: November 3

A project of UK-based artist Anthony Hildebrand, Agniolology takes rock rhythms (along with some more unconventional stylings) and combines them with no-input mixer feedback to create a refreshing and intense take on noise-inflected music. For much of the album, the percussion takes a backseat while setting up a framing in which the noisy drone are contextualized into rhythmic arrangements. In other words, the feedback becomes the replacement for heavily distorted guitars and provide atonal madness that turns some basic beats into something you could (almost) mosh out to. 

The opening track "Sex Balm" starts out this madcap adventure with a bitcrushed drone and a rhythm reminiscent of the post-grunge era while the next track, "Smoking Jacket," speeds things up a bit. But it's not all rock influences at play here. "Intercepted Massage" and "Towards a Theory of Ignorance" introduce some more off-kilter rhythms that are difficult to place but lean a bit more heavily on IDM influences with less glitch and more stability. Then there is the title track, "Agnoiology" with its early industrial rock influence in the rhythm and a scorching layer of warbling feedback sitting atop it. The whole album is a bit of a wild ride that goes to some pretty unexpected and intense places.