OUT OF THE ETHER

Writhing Squares have been conjuring up cosmic slop from the Philadelphia underground for a few years now,?mixing growling bass,?motorik?synthesis, and?skronking?sax into a heady brew of punk-laced progressive?R'n'R.?The duo of Daniel Provenzano & Kevin Nickles emerged in 2015 with their self-released "Gemini Blues" 7-nch,?following it up the next year with their debut album "In?The?Void Above" for the renowned?Siltbreeze?imprint. "Out of The Ether" is their sophomore effort, & first for Trouble?In?Mind.?The album consists of 5 tracks of minimal, droning ambience, overtaken at times by Nickles' wailing, sax?skronk;?a mixture of the soulful runs of The Stooges' Steve McKay & the no-wave stabs of James Chance - drum machine,?and Provenzano's guttural basslines that add an industrial menace to a locked-in groove and?lysergicly?introspective?lyrics. Album closer "A Whole New Jupiter" takes up all of the LP version's side two,?slingshotting?the listener over?the event horizon and thru the center of a sonically sculpted black hole, it's relentless?motorik?dirge evolving over the course of the track's 19-minute run time into an abstract pulse before lurching?back?into?the groove, riding it into the sun.