If I had to describe ìSquelch & Skronk,” the debut album of the Mentor, Ohio-based electronic group Prof. Noise, in one word, it would be ìquirky.”† The album has an unusual mix of sound samples which create really cool effects, and layered with very nice vocals on the whole is very solid.† There were, however, a few things I found frustrating.
Prof. Noise is comprised of Nick Terrelle í10 and Natalie Kabat, who is not a student at Wooster.† Kabat performs the vocals, and has a beautiful voice which seems to be able to channel different vocal styles very effectively.† Terrelleís music composition major is evident in some of the interesting harmonic and melodic figures that crop up in several tracks.
The main thing to say about the album is that it is complex.† Itís not the sort of thing Iíd listen to while trying to do something else.† That being said, when I was really paying attention to it, I found ìSquelch & Skronk” very interesting to listen to.† The lyrics are poetic, and not in a simplistic way. †I had to listen to a track several times to figure out what it was about.† Part of that was that while I was trying to listen to the lyrics I kept getting distracted by background parts that were kind of doing their own thing.
Especially jarring was the static.† I realize itís kind of a staple of the genre, but I personally find it to be disruptive to my experience of any given song.† There isnít too much of it on this album, and most is at the beginning and end of songs, which actually flows pretty well.
Probably my favorite tracks were ìRoadside Dentist” and ìBody Count,” but for completely different reasons.† ìRoadside Dentist” has a really nice layered feeling that just fits together in a pleasant way, and even though you can pick out interesting figures, they donít take over the song.† I love the background vocalizations which sound like eerie laughter, reflecting references to a kind of cruel laughter in the lyrics.† It was subtle and cool.
ìBody Count” is just really complex.† The melody is interesting, and highlights Kabatís voice really nicely.† It seems to have an Asian influence, which I suspect comes from a combination of the pentatonic scale and the instrumentation Terrelle employs, but either way it creates something way different from the rest of the album. The end of the track has really bizarre layering which kind of assaults the ears, but itís brief enough that it still sounds good.
The album contains one purely instrumental track, ìFussy.” Itís got some nice moments, but one of the samples it uses a lot kind of sounds like the sounds Yoshi makes in ìYoshiís Island,” and gets sort of annoying by the end of the track, especially when everything else essentially drops out.
If you like this sort of music, I would definitely recommend this album. †If you donít like this sort of music, but you like listening to music for its own sake, I would still say give this album a try, especially because you can listen to the whole thing for free at http://www.last.fm/music/Prof.+Noise/Squelch%2B%2526%2BSkronk.