Ike Stirner
Slop ‘Til You Drop
MAV Records, 2012
Review by Kent Manthie
The latest offering from Tony “Ike” Stirner, Slop ‘Til You Drop, this time recorded on MAV records,consists of one long cut – the title track, which is a bit over 44 minutes.
It’s got a sheer electronic, “danse macabre” style to it, with a pumping, throbbing, pulsating rhythm that goes on & on, driving the whole number. If you dig long, droned-out, repetitive, hypno-technotica, then you’ll certainly dig Slop ‘Til You Drop. In between the pulses of electronic rhythm there is a synthesizer loop that drops a melody over and over at times at a high frequency, at other times a lower one and in between are some ray-gun sounds. It’s like an alien invasion from Ice Planet 9.
The intense beat never gives up, it’s very hypnotic, something one can focus on, meditate to and lose oneself in as well.
Slop ‘Til You Drop differs from the last recording, Τὸ Μεγα Θηρίον, in that it’s more “accessible”, but in a very relative way. This one is a more bombastic, fun-but-apocalyptic album, catchy rhythms, oblique synth patterns and the ubiquitous ray-guns shooting at what we can only guess, whereas Τὸ Μεγα Θηρίον was more of a stab into unknown caves of the East.
Slop… has the feel of a 1950s outer-space film. Neither corny nor parodying; a serious take on “what could be…” or “what might have been”.
Another thing it evokes is a big chase scene – the pulsing beats give the feel of one running for their life while being chased by something dangerous and ominous, looming just behind. Almost as in a dream, where you dream you’re being chased by some unnamed “thing” and you can feel its breath almost, as it’s gaining on you, but for some reason you can’t get any traction.
Whatever you’re reaction to it, Slop ‘Til You Drop is a study in unconscious beat sensation-inducing trance-states and you are the test subject.
Alternately, Slop… sounds simple and intricately complex at the same time. Simple, in that it has a repetitive nature to it – one single beat that goes ‘round & ‘round throughout, but that repetition gets to you after a while, you really get into it – or rather, it gets into you. It’s complex in that there’s so much going on above the throbbing beats, a couple of synth hooks, mixed up with other electronica and tinkering with bent-circuitry, ray-guns zapping imaginary, ominous space aliens and other trippy, dance grooves and intense, gamma ray shots.
I hope you’ll get a chance to check out Slop ‘Til You Drop. You’ll come away in a hypnotic trance, disoriented, twisted around inside and mentally exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster the song puts you through. Check out Stirner’s page on Facebook, http://www.discogs.com, the website for Stirner’s own fledgling netlabel, Skum Rex, http://skumrex.blogspot.nl/. – or check out the site for MAV Records, http://mavrecords.webs.com. Happy listening, KM.
Independent Review 