Hydra Head Records: tape

OLD MAN GLOOM - NO

2xLP/CD/CS/Digital

June 26th, 2012

INTER-OFFICE DATA EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE HEAD EXECUTIVES AND THE OMG INSTITUTE, WINTER 2012

A: Do any of you have interest in doing a small number of OMG live events in 2012? First

off, a fest in Poland and possibly some additional shows before and/or after?

C: If it makes sense to do some other shows then great, I could probably get away with

being gone for a short week. If not then I'm fine with just doing the fest and taking

everyone's share of money. I figure I deserve it based on the amount of stress I endured

during the recording process. I need a googleplex to make this work.

S: I'll drop some knowledge on ya'll. Caleb is trying to trick us. A googleplex isn't a

number, but a wrestling maneuver. He's simply trying to make sure we'll all wrestle on

the tour. ....plus, we'll have merch to sell, and from what I understand, the Polish love

balsa wood aeroplanes.

A: Nate - just so you know, the fact that Santos drinks now means he can just come

along to entertain Caleb, and we can finally ask Kurt to play drums for us full time.

C: If we can keep our over head to a minimum then I would be on board. And of course I

will need a bowl of Wendy's french onion soup at every show. And it better be fucking hot.

A: Wendy's soup. Got it. You are a prick.

N: Danzig wanted a Wendy's chicken sandwich in addition to his piping hot french onion

soup. "No mayo, No mustard. Dry."

A: Even if we never play a show, just talking about them is reward enough for me.

N: I'm sorry if that last email came off shitty. I read it after I sent it and realized the tone

could have been misunderstood. Though I AM shitty, I promise I wasn't trying to be.

S: Hey fellas. Any progress in figuring out your schedule Caleb? Maybe I missed some

emails. I got the one where I was kicked out, so I'm just writing as a fan. Can I get on the

guestlist if you do play shows?

C: Ok, so in theory this would work for me. Drop the kids off at daycare 7am on Tuesday

the 1st. Drive to airport, fly to London. Shred hard in London Tuesday night. Make our

way to the Poland fest by shredding hard through Europe. Maybe another show after the

fest heading in the right direction? I would need to try and be home by 4pm on Monday

the 7th. You can probably throw in a trip to the emergency room somewhere in there,

mid-week or so. Again, this would be an ideal situation for me but I realize everybody

has their own shit as well. I'm just spitballin' as they say in the industry.

A: Well, Santos it looks like you might be able to play with us after all. Do you know how

to press play on a discman?...Also, anyone have an opinion about the new sequence of

the record?

N: I'm fine with this new version too, I just like it when records punch you in the face

right off the bat. Thinking about you staring at me makes me uncomfortable.

A: How about if I jump out of the record cover and punch you in the face next time you

put it on?

C: Im good with it.

N: Him punching me or the sequence?

C: Both.

N: Well, I guess we can get the punch over with this weekend.

A: Only if we listen to the record.

SELLING POINTS //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

- Old Man Gloom is a supergroup (containing members of Converge, ISIS, Cave In,

Zozobra, Doomriders, Mamiffer, etc.), but instead of making shitty records like other

"supergroups", Old Man Gloom actually makes great ones.

- NO is an undeniably great title for an album, and also serves as an ironclad manifesto

in opposition to the moral and aesthetic decay of our global society.

- This is Old Man Gloom's fifth album, their first in eight years. They weren't on hiatus,

just busy writing the greatest album in music history. That makes them the proud

progenitors of the five greatest albums of all time, NO being number one. NO is like

"one", only spelled backwards and without the "E".

- Old Man Gloom are playing shows in 2012 and 2013, just in time for the collapse of

the global economy.

- The acronym for Old Man Gloom is "OMG". "OMG" has become a household phrase

since its introduction in to the popular lexicon in 1999, directly coinciding with the

formation of Old Man Gloom the year prior. The group has never been properly credited

for this massively important contribution to global culture.

- NO was made using acoustic and electric instruments including but not limited to:

sheet metal, toilets, human voices, guitars, drums, tambourines, shoes, hands, various

other percussive tools, analog and digital electronic devices, and brains.

You can stream a couple tracks and pre-order the album on all formats on the OMG Bandcamp page or pre-order it with limited edition clothing in the Hydra Head Shop

OLD MAN GLOOM - NO
2xLP/CD/Cassette/t-shirt/ladies t-shirt/longsleeve/hoodie
Available for pre-order now!

We would write a rambling, somewhat entertaining blurb about how great the record is, and too bad you weren't at the shows to get it early (neither were we), or even if you were you didn't get the limited pre-order exclusive shirt/hoodie, and how it will be hilarious when someone asks if you've listened to any good records lately and you shout "NO!" with all the force of a sentient simian research scientist seeking sonic solutions to somnolent sedentary styles of living through voluble auditory vocal projection (not unlike that practiced by Institute Researchers Aaron Turner, Caleb Scofield, and Nate Newton in recent field experiments), thus confusing and alarming your inquirer and leading to potential future awkward social engagements, but we figure you don't have time to read another run-on sentenced blog post from us when you could be carving your place amongst the chosen few who will have the new OLD MAN GLOOM album in all of it's quaking glory upon it's official release date (June 26th), along with items of clothing that will only be produced prior to the release, and thereafter unavailable for purchase, making your wardrobe the envy of those slower and less attentive to our various information outlets who also appreciate the strange, humbling, deafening heaviness of OMG, and who probably didn't get one of the limited vinyl colors because they dilly dallied on their way to the Hydra Head Shop to order the 2xLP, maybe to read another article on the internet about bizarre undersea creatures caught on robotic cameras, or a blog post written for the amusement of the few obsessive computer addicts who feel obligated to keep up to date on every word posted to the sites they follow (count some of us in this camp). No, we thought we would keep this short so you can be sure to get your opposable thumbs on the new OLD MAN GLOOM record, NO, on whichever color of whichever format you prefer before they are gone, along with one (or all) of the associated clothing options.

HYH-231
PRURIENT - Time's Arrow
12"/MCD/CS/Digital
Release Date: October 25th, 2011
Pre-Order starting September 21st

Vinyl 12" - 1000 pcs on purple, clear orange, or black vinyl.
Cassette - limited to 400.

For many artists who have careers that span more than an album or two, there are often various lines visible in their work - a line from origin to current form, lines between different paradigms of sound, lines across which fans of different manifestations of the artist will not cross. Prurient in 2011 is drawing just such lines, and Time's Arrow proves this point explicitly. Here we bear witness to Dominick Fernow's long running project once again evolving, unfolding, permutating. Taking a bold step away from the sounds which drew attention his way in the formative years, he is clearly moving towards something new, something still taking form in the present moment. Unsettling perhaps for followers of Prurient's former incarnations, but extremely important for the longevity and vitality of a determinedly restless and inventive musician as Fernow has consistently proved himself to be.

If noise music, the genre to which Prurient has most often been assigned, is about confrontation, exploration and defying expectations, this release measures up on all counts. Yet, much of what made past work identifiable as noise music - harsh textures, screams washed in seas of static, clanging unidentified percussion - is now gone. Those elements which formerly provided a valuable counterpoint to the harsh din of Prurient's core sound - buried melodies, passages of relative serenity, and occasional spoken word bits - have come to the fore. A sense of naked clarity and uncomfortable intimacy now brings the listener closer to the world as described the music, rather than pushing away the would be voyeuristic observer. This is best illustrated on the title track of the EP, "Times Arrow", where a glistening synth melody lays atop an undeniably dancey beat, over which a fragmented, but clearly discernible narrative is intoned. Sinister in character to be sure, but also clearly without any element that could be described as overtly aggressive.

Though a newly formed voice of Prurient is clearly prominent on this release, a line drawn from the past to the present is visible throughout. As the EP progresses echoes of Fernow's assaultive past explosions creep steadily to the forefront, culminating in the furious blizzard of the closing instrumental version of "Slavery in the Bahamas". This is not a calculated reassurance for fans of old that Fernow is still capable of his former feats of unbridled harshness, but rather a reminder that no one can fully escape the past, no matter however continual the process of regeneration and renewal might be - the line of time connects the then to now and onwards.

"Bold, original and astonishingly well-produced throughout, Bermuda Drain really is a new peak in Prurient's prolific career" - Boomkat / Album of the Week

"After a decade of forging the most jagged, invasive noise imaginable, Fernow has moved ahead, tempering his menace with a broader range of texture and tone. And yes, even melody. The result is Prurient’s strongest statement to date, and its best album." - The A.V. Club

"Bermuda Drain is full of distortion-free keyboard, perverse disco beats, moments of beauty, even hooks... Fernow wants to shake you up, unnerve you, make you understand just how fragile "beautiful" music is." - Pitchfork

Track List:

1. TIME'S ARROW

2. TIME'S ARROW (UNSOLVED)

3. LET'S MAKE A SLAVE (DE-SHELLED)

4. MASKLESS FACE

5. SLAVERY IN THE BAHAMAS (INSTRUMENTAL)

Pre-Order Time's Arrow

PRURIENT items in the Hydra Head Shop

PRURIENT titles in the Hydra Head Download Store

Time's Arrow cassette cover

Select Live Appearances:

October 8, MAGA Museum, live collaboration with Nico Vascellari, Gallarate, Italy

October 9 Odalunga, with Bus de la Lum, Vittorio Veneto, Italy

October 15, De Kreun, Conservatoriumplein 1, Kortrijk, Belgium

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