If you were around the noise scene in the late 90's, you may remember R4 and his label, Fusion Audio Recordings. He had been on a long hiatus, but is now back with a vengeance. R4 is the work of Ohio based artist Barry Scheffel, and one of the things that I like about R4 is that he is difficult to nail down. R4 can be at times almost peaceful drone on one album and harsh noise on the next album. My introduction to his work was a three disc set on Fusion Audio that highlighted these differences. Repulser takes a similar approach.

We kick things off with "Ashfall2" (sorry, web doesn't do superscript very well), which is a heavy slab of drone that brings in just a hint of dissonance. Over 17 minutes it slowly evolves, constantly shifting almost imperceptibly. For those like me who were wondering, Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, and "How to Spend a Weekend in Mariupol," brings the noisier aspects to the forefront. But this is not harsh at all. Rather, it is at times almost rhythmic and soothing and at other times harsh static blasts. At 33 minutes, this track has a lot to offer, and Scheffel makes full use of the space, playing with dynamics and lulling you into a false sense of security before cranking up the static and shortwave radio blasts. The entire track moves like a roller coaster, and this keeps the track interesting. In fact, rather than thinking of it as one 33 minute track, one could easily see this as several interconnected tracks that all share a common framework. If you want a noisy track that you can sink into, this fits the bill. "Disruption of Balance" is a nice mix of wind tunnel noise and drone with a bit of static thrown in for good measure. The overall effect is almost hypnotic. "Silence Also Speaks Volumes" closes off the disc with a short track that has little silence to speak of. In fact, this is ominous, machine-like squeals and grinding noise. This would make a fantastic soundtrack for a dystopian post-apocalyptic movie. Overall, this is well done and engaging.

Now let's see what the second disc has in store for us. We kick it off with "Fragility / Finality," which is 9 minutes of sawtooth drone punctuated by bass rumbles. I'll admit that this wasn't really my cup of tea and felt like it went on a bit too long. Next up we have "Feeding an Information Loop," which brings back waves upon waves of rumbling static. The mix of high pitched white noise and heavy bass works well together and it shifts enough to keep it all interesting. Finally, we shut it all down with the mammoth "Reticence," which weighs in at almost 48 minutes. Static blasts and voices distorted and processed beyond recognition. Shifting waves of distortion. But this is not in your face noise. This is carefully crafted to evoke a kind of atmosphere. Quiet passages interrupted by phaser sweeps and rumbling noise. At around 20 minutes in, it becomes incredibly quiet, drawing you in before some warbling synth buries it and dissolves into a slowly pitchshifting drone. The entire track vacillates between noise and subtle ambience. If you are looking for something noisy that never really becomes harsh, this is one that you can sink into and enjoy. Of note, this is not available on the Bandcamp version of the album, so getting the physical copy is like getting a whole extra disc worth of music.

Overall, this release demonstrates that R4, despite his long hiatus, has not lost what made him unique, which is his knack for blending noise and ambience. The album is limited to 100 copies, so you'll want to get this while you can. Well worth checking out.