Soiled - Mind Numb

There's some good stuff to be found on Mindnumb, the latest CD-R from Marcus H, a bedroom experimentalist hailing from Teeside but resident in the West Country. Each of the tracks take a different approach ranging from the looped electro shudders and scuzz guitars over upfront rhythms of the title track to the melodic electronics of 'Atonal Movie'. 'Bad Vowel Movement at WP Primary' features some jazz noodling before erupting into electro squelches and hyper rhythms. The stop-start approach and use of real drums reminds of an unfussed Matmos. Several of the tracks utilise acoustic guitars and electronics and would veer to what I'd term experimental folktronica. Mindnumb is complete with an Offbeats Conglemix which pits a wailing voice against an electro-punk crossover.

Eight tracks in 18 minutes does mean everything is left as sound sketches. I'd like to see Soiled release these as a series of seven-inch singles before compiling them onto a single CD. Still, this has been languishing around my house for some time and I'm glad I finally got around to spinning this as its definitely a keeper, and I'd be keen to hear more. For more information go to www.soiled.org.uk