The Weakener – What Do You Know About It

SCORN is dead, but MICK HARRIS is very, very much alive, and with this, the first album under what hopefully is an ongoing project title, reaffirming his position as an innovative soundsmith. As irable as his work in uncomfortable rhythmic music was, it's good to see him working in a more controlled format again. For those of you who lost the plot along the way, this album is very much a return to those other-world rhythms last heard around the "Logghi Barroghi" album, and he's learnt a lot while travelling through the experimental netherworlds between. The drum rhythms here are as slow & ponderous as ever, surrounded by the cornucopia of noises last heard on the "Off" track on the "Leave It Out" 12" - electronics full of bizarre wonderment, all cycling around the drums and sub-bass like insects attending their Queen. His percussion is skeletal, tightly gated and bright, perfect for the sounds which drape like Christmas decorations around the core. Often surprisingly subtle, this collection of tracks hearkens back to the Ambient Dub of earlier days while being a sound unique to post-BULLEN SCORN - use of DDL is not overblown, but often very present in the sound. Changing his working title was obviously cathartic for the man - this could arguably be his best album so far. HARRIS is a perfectionist, and the uncountable hours he spent crafting this have paid off in spades. It's a delight to listen to, and promises great things from the future. This could be described as being dedicated to the Man's First Love - the love of Sound for it's own sake.

Originally reviewed for Soft Watch.

This, Mick Harris' only album as The Weakener, treads through similar waters as some Scorn releases that preceeded it, with some sonic clues of where that other project was to venture with the subsequent Hymen Records releases. "Spotter" is the standout, though the other cuts all have merit. Low end worshippers will find this album well worth hunting down, though it is not all that necessary for Harris neophytes or those who know him as "that guy who used to drum for Napalm Death."