Keiji Haino ( 灰野敬二 ) & Tatsuya Yoshida ( 吉田達也 ) - Hauenfiomiume (2008)

| Avant-Garde | Experimental Rock | Free-Jazz |
| Psychedelic Rock | Noise Rock | Free-Prog |

Hauenfiomiume? Wow. I dare you to say that really fast one time, let alone 10. Betcha can’t. This is the third album from the duo of Keiji Haino + Tatsuya Yoshida, following Until Water Grasps Flame in 2002 and New Rap in 2006. It’s also part one of a projected two-part release (with Uhrfasudhasdd). My, how ambitious!

Quite different from this duo’s previous output, Hauenfiomiume is exceedingly odd, quirky, and chock full of a wide variety of tracks that can and will turn on a dime. The sounds veer so suddenly! From classical acoustic guitar bathed in reverb to quiet, moaning, forlorn vocals to maniacally-paced distorted electric guitar and drums to weirdly sped-up interludes with screaming vocals to repetitive, dry guitar and drum riffs to strange, slow, echoing drum rhythms to somewhat straightforward rock to whispered vocals with electric reverb guitar supported by a steady kick drum beat to more classical guitar and keyboard tangles with vocals from Yoshida to a New Rap-style electric guitar and drum kit attack with hyperactive explosions to complex riffs with spoken vocals and backup singing to distorted feedback riffs to a quiet flute and drum interlude to rapid-fire stop ‘n’ start garble to fractured acoustic guitar rhythms with buried singing to upbeat, distorted rock to frantically chopped-up weirdness to heavily edited, ultra dry, distorted, stabbing rhythms with garbled vocals to clouds of blurry chaos to a strange baroque dream and back to the classical guitar that started it all.

It’s good to hear Yoshida on bass and keyboards as well as the usual drums, and his singing in particular melds nicely with Haino’s and helps set these sessions apart. Plus, Yoshida’s taut, heavily edited production takes Haino to places he’d never go alone. It also makes this variety show sound like a consistent collection. If you’re a private in the Army, don’t worry about blasting Hauenfiomiume in the barracks, because if your sargeant makes an unexpected appearance, he’ll be able to bounce a dime off of this music, no problem. All in all, this is a fresh, vital work from both artists. And it comes appropriately housed in an ultra-luxurious, three-panel mini-LP jacket festooned with colorful(!) artwork from both Haino and Yoshida prominently displayed under heavy gloss. This one’s a keeper.

Catalog: MGC-34 (Magaibutsu)
Album Overview on Arcane Candy
On Last.fm
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