I had previously reviewed Fencepost's last outing on Inner Demons and enjoyed it, so I was interested to see what this UK artist has in store for us this time. This disc is based on "The Yellow Wallpaper," a short story by American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in January 1892. The liner notes describe it thus: "It is regarded as an important early work of American feminist literature for its illustration of the attitudes towards mental and physical health of women in the19th century. The story is written as a collection of secret journal entries, narrated in the first person by a woman whose physician husband has rented an old mansion for the summer, with the woman confined to an upstairs nursery as a form of treatment for "temporary nervous depression" – a slight hysterical tendency". The room is decorated with peeling yellow wallpaper, which soon becomes the sole focus of the writer. As the reader continues through the journal entries, they experience the writer's gradual descent into obsession and madness." This seems like this will be an interesting ride, so let's dive in.

We kick it off with “A Sickly Sulphur Tint.” The atmosphere is unnerving, with plucking strings with springlike sproings, the sound of someone walking on a wooden floor, and a host of other cacophony. But this is not noise; rather, it is hallucinatory and if this were actually in your head it would become overwhelming because of its relentlessness. As with the previous release, the core or Fencepost’s sound is a Amyl 1913 upright piano [prepared/bowed] and Kaoss Pads, and you can see how Fencepost has mastered this setup in “It Creeps So.” Imagine the squeakiest door and then have someone opening and closing it over and over. This is accomplished through the use of the bowed piano strings. Under all of this, is a heavy bass layer as the strings are looped over and over. Nicely done. “Creeping by Daylight” is a bit more sparse than the previous two tracks, featuring plucked strings that lends itself to an almost whimsical feel. If this were in a Looney Tunes cartoon, this would be the time when the cat is sleeping and the mice are making plans to steal the cheese. “Out At Last” puts it all together, with a heavy dose of atmosphere with clattering noises, plucked stings, and bass drone. If you like it cinematic, this is a fitting denouement.

Fencepost manages to depict the feel of "the writer's gradual descent into obsession and madness" well by careful use of dissonance and layering, but also with a sense of compassion. Fencepost is not going for the cheap shots here, and mental illness is sometimes fetishized in the experimental scene (looking at all of the power electronics serial killer worship here). Fencepost takes this seriously and one can get a sense of the confusion that comes from isolation and a brain that will not cooperate. In short, this is extremely well done and stands on its own even without an understanding of the inspiration. Highly recommended.