Hammer of Hathor S/T (PBDL CS)

Here's another offering sent to me by the Hammer of Hathor folks, Mark and Heather. Dug that last LP and it's no surprise that this one provides a similar strain, though the presentation here is a bit more constrained than on the other one. Apparently the duo used to be a sax and drum duet but when Heather got pregnant she couldn't manage the sax quite so well so she picked up a geetar, and what results here are some duets featuring Mark's fairly nimble rhythm work and Heather's wonderfully detuned guitar repetitions.

This is some tight stuff. Given how loose the general sound is the couple react on a dime to each other, settling into these little coves of repeated mantra stuff, Heather sounding like a stoned out Arto Lindsay and Mark giving it a real poly-rhythmic go-round, nice and grooving but without anything too firm to latch on to. Rather they both sort of get something going and then sit there, barely changing it at all but still maintaining freshness through tiny little differences within the very enacting of the looping. It's a surprisingly minimal and interesting approach, and the stuff has real life in its folds. While a lot of stuff like this tends toward the irritating end, either not sticking with the idea long enough or, conversely, sticking with it in too limited a scope, HoH finds a really funky in between spot that really has a lot of space for movement in its constrained universe. Each little piece is as chugging and confusing as the last, and Heather's damn good at proving that if you repeat it enough, it gets head-bobby. These lines are totally fried little things, but they keep going and eventually you'll be tapping your foot right along to its a-melodic anti-groove. And Mark fits right in as close as can be. A little release, but one that further demarcates the group's unique sound. Adding to the mystery, it's a c-30 on a c-90, so I guess there's plenty of room to try it out yourself if you want. Good luck though. Another cool one from these guys.