Formed in 2006, GNOD have emerged as an unencumbered, constantly revolving cast purveying longform delirium that veers into transcendent heights as much as it does utter meltdowns. With ‘Infinity Machines’ their trademark evasion of consistent structural foundations continues but whereas previous ventures like 2013’s ‘Chaudelande’ compilation showed a band versed in the hurtling, fiery purr of Neu!-like road journeys, this latest excursion treads heavily and drifts headily, into different kinds of outer territory.
From the off the impact of this divergent lease of sound is startling. ‘Control Systems’ begins with huge jarring echoes seemingly wrenched out of a vacuum and proceeds with gargantuan tremors, as the signals of space detritus seem to glance off each other and communicate in garbled phrases. Voices mill around until an impasse is reached. Glass shatters and a slightly timid Northern Irish accent begins to ruminate intimately and frankly on the nature of modern privacy, whilst the plaintive twinkle of sporadically chiming Rhodes piano adds a disarmingly moving undertow to it all. A bed of frazzled drone forms the basis as expressive lilts and powerful sputters of sax begin to resound as if emanating from some mountainous pulpit, half resembling the blistering catharsis of free jazz and half redolent of the sweeping mysticism of spiritual jazz. From there a heavy-set carriage of percussion leadenly strikes up and it moves into a more sinister downturn of agonized, tense wails. Though these sequences are disparate they’re connected adeptly by space-travel rushes and inner-machine whirs. It makes for one of the finest hauls the collective have recorded to date, majestic and full of ambitious variation....
Read the rest of the review here: The Ransom Note
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