Shit
and Shine: Everybody’s a Fuckin Expert (Editions Mego)
It’s
not lost on me that the title of Shit and Shine’s latest both
dismisses and betrays writing any sort of review of it. However, its
Craig Clouse has been quietly shitting and shining for over 10 years
now, having released 15 albums of his own eccentric breed of
experimental noise, and his latest is fascinating to my ears. Clouse is a bit of a musical misanthrope who’s
not afraid to take chances and to also flaunt his sense of humor
(indicated in the title itself), and finally landing on Editions Mego
for his latest, it shouldn’t be surprising that this is an almost
entirely electronic affair compared to his more obscured noise-rock
deconstructions over the last many years. The mangled loops and beats
here bring some comparisons to mind, namely the most out there
excursions from V/VM, Twisted Science, Lesser, or Electric Company.
It’s interesting to me that all of those acts’ heydays were over 10
years ago (before S&S debuted) and so perhaps one can consider
his repertoire to be a logical extrapolation and lateral exploration
of similar ideas. However, these comparisons are just that — a
starting point rather than a mirror.
The sputtering noise and jerky
rhythm of “Upside Down Cheeseburger” has a distinct flavor all
its own (pun intended), as an example. “Bus Station” fuses some
seriously hefty low end rumble with mangled vocal bits and snares to
lend its own weird take on bass music, while “Chop the Night”
sounds like a couple club jams synced and broadcasted through blown
out speakers. Despite all of the diced loops and mangled layers,
Everybody’s a Fuckin Expert is clear and focused. The mechanized
groove comes through as an anchor on cuts like “Picnic Table” or
“Stockwell,” and the variety of tempo, samples, and iterations on
looping and interweaving beats and patterns yields cool and often
disorienting results, continuing Shit and Shine’s legacy as enfants
terribles in the outskirts of noise and electronic beatmaking. Much
like when seeing the tossed canine on its cover, I’m unsure whether
to react with a laugh or malaise, but I suspect that Clouse doesn’t
give a shit either way. Highly recommended.
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