Review: Author & Punisher ‘Nocturnal Birding’
As a fan of sci-fi, in particular Ridley Scott’s seminal Blade Runner, I have always sprinkled Author & Punisher reviews with little nods to cinema. Tristan Shone, the brains behind the industrial doom, has blurred the lines between man and machine since creating the sound-manipulating devices he would use to strike terror into the hearts of listeners for the last 20 years.
However, his latest outing has a distinctly organic feel despite the cold mechanical heartbeat. Volunteer work, birds, life in a fractured, increasingly authoritarian state, and a career milestone for the artist from San Diego has meant that the resultant album, Nocturnal Birding, sees him step further out of his comfort zone.
The inspiration for the album is taken from the birdsongs he would hear and research following his resumed work with volunteer groups, dropping water and supplies for migrants on well-known paths. Without touching on the contemporary political undercurrent behind the album, for an entity that once pulsed with the relentless drive of a Terminator, Author & Punisher’s latest output poses the more existential question of how we move forward as a species when ‘we reserve our cruellest intentions for our own’.
Back again is Ecstatic Visionguitarist Doug Sabolick, who previously lent his incisive tone and dynamics to the incredible Krüller. Now a fully-fledged member, his creativity is infused in the record along with contributions from a wide range of guests such as Indonesian noise artist Kuntari, French industrialists Fange, and Couch Slut’s Megan Osztrosits. This blend, and furthering of the experimental side of the process, has led to a human/synthetic blend that has an element of questioning human nature, not unlike Wendy and The Lost Boys from the latest Alien Earth series (if you are trying to maintain the trend of shoehorning sci-fi dystopian references into your reviews).
Meadowlark kicks off this lean, thirty-five-minute effort that has been sharpened for maximum impact. The panoramic droning is rich and indulgent, evoking images of a sprawling future filled with factories and high rises, lit by neon and flames. The mournful vocals are a more fragile element that has been added since the days of Doppler’s biting snarl, part Godflesh, part insight into Shone’s own soul.
When the stamping rhythm of the Drone Machines crash in, layered with Sabolick’s guitar, now an integral part of the writing process, this is the first glimpse into the idiosyncrasies and inspiration found in the birdsongs that interweave the album. The trademark punch of the guttural lyrics with their ‘I just keep running’ hook desperately rasps and claws for air.
The lighter tribal dance that evokes a bird shaking its tail feathers is underpinned by a grinding baseline before Titanis explodes. Featuring the aforementioned Kuntari, what begins as a playful call, morphs into one of the heaviest tracks Author & Punisherhave written as they switch back and forth between the rhythmic, organic euphoria of the percussion to the raging howl of the wind tunnel blast that follows. The shortest track on the album feels fleeting, but packs in the swirling atmospherics of the guitar, subsonic dub drops, full-throated roars and strangled screams.
Abrasive, sludge heavy and as black as a banker’s heart…
Megan Osztrosits adds her contributions to Mute Swan, which begins with a chirping and sawing sound that recalls Von Till’s Harvestman field recordings. After Shone has set the scene with the lurching vocals and ratcheting riffs, the Couch Slut singer intones eerie spoken words over the haunting melodies that serve as a build for the colliding violence that follows. With what feels like a nod to late ’90s era Ministry, the squalling angular guitar sounds smash against the pummelling of the sonic actuator as the distorted fuzz becomes a drowning cacophony.
Black Storm Petrel continues the run of guest appearances. With little ceremony, the band charge into the darker, more aggressive side of their nature, with Fange adding their blend of chaos and a second layer of double-kick-drum battering that thunders under the monstrously heavy sound. Abrasive, sludge heavy and as black as a banker’s heart, there is no room for breath as Author & Punisherspits and writhes with ill-concealed venom.
The pairing of Titmouse/Titmice is a throwback to the simpler, chug-based riffs of Godflesh’s Selfless as the rearing pull back of the guitar glances off the mammoth march of the driving beats. The vocals come in a staccato barrage, allowing just enough shade and texture to create a nightmare groove on the former, before the winding melodies wrestle with the muscular attack to add a surreal texture.
The latter warps this into a chattering bite that wrestles against the sickening bends and oppressive churn, making you feel like you are being flung this way and that in a battle for survival. When the harmonies and softer vocals finally offer relief at the end, there is a drifting feeling of questioning exhaustion that sums up those of us looking at the world right now and despairing as empathy seems to slip further from our reach.
The melody of Rook, the penultimate track, is based on the sound of the bird itself and is built around a lumbering beat and the interplay between Shone’s mechanical clank and Sabolick’s razor‑like tone. It opens with ominous guitar, drenched in synth effects and a growing sense of malevolence, until the smothering thump of percussion finally pummels you into submission.
Thrush ends the album on a brooding, crawling piece that, at times, feels uncharacteristically vulnerable on an album that has writhed and spat out its observations on humanity’s inhumanity to itself. There has always been a weary, melancholic, and contemplative air to Shone’s work, which was felt more acutely on Krüller, but with Nocturnal Birding, Author & Punisher once again dial up their concussive, sonically abrasive anger.
Already a unique entity, the evolution of Shone with this latest album has an emotional weight that feels like the soul inside the machine appealing to its maker. This is powerful stuff.
Label: Relapse Records
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Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden
