The first disc I remember picking up that played the feedback as an intentional strategy is Arcane Device's "Also Sprach Zarathustra." At the time, Staalplaat stuff was pretty hard to get where I lived, so I picked it up and gave it a listen. I was amazed that feedback could be so beautiful. All of this is to say that Wallis is in good company and carrying on a fun tradition. The liner notes that "Autumn in the House of Usher was performed on an Allen & Heath Zed-10FX mixer fed into itself. The first two pieces consist of two overlaid improvisations, and the title track was performed in four takes responding to the Webber & Watson film" of "The Fall of the House of Usher." I had not heard of Eli Wallis before this, but the Bandcamp page states that he hails from Vancouver, British Columbia and describes him as a "poet from Kamloops." Otherwise, I don't know much about the artist. But I do like his taste in literature, so let's see how Wallis approaches Poe's work.

“Mirror Says” kicks it off with weird, sparse synth-like work with plenty of tape hiss and a bit of feedback thrown in for good measure. I appreciate that Wallis brings in a sense of ominous creepiness without resorting to cheap tricks like jump scare sound blasts or horror movie samples. This works well to evoke a sense of atmosphere and sets the stage for the rest of the album. “No Sunbeam Ever Lies” is a bit more whimsical in feel, like a funhouse organ grinder that is not working correctly and overpowering feedback tones that interrupt everything. “Autumn in the House of Usher” closes it with the longest track on the disc, and I am pretty impressed by the sounds that Wallis is able to get just from mixer feedback. This would make an excellent soundtrack to a silent film, so on that front, Wallis nails it. The building of tension and atmosphere is well done.

If you enjoy the judicious use of feedback, this will be well worth picking up. Then again, the music itself stands well on its own, even without the technical expertise and knowledge of the background literary influences.