Between the release of his Torn Remnants of Nobility solo album and the live shows and recordings with his father in The SPKtR, Robert Revell seems to be in the midst of an especially productive period. In the midst of that is this album under his alternate moniker of Nort.H, which in contrast to the harsh auditory violence of his other outlets bears a more meditative and ephemeral quality. Tacit Receptor Observation Nodule centers on a series of interlocking drones, unfolding slowly toward a destination the artist seems conscious of, even as the listener may not be. Each sonic movement of the 19-and-a-half minutes of “Guitar Drums Bass Voice” treads the line between soothing atmosphere and noisy impenetrability, each instrument manipulated almost beyond recognition in their initial appearances, with all sense of structural or tonal definition or even tempo eroded by the coarsely overdriven treatments. Rhythms do insinuate themselves in the distortion, but more due to the clashing and coalescing of varying frequencies that only dissipate to allow the next instrument to make its entrance. By the time we hear the voices, it’s clear that each is singing, but the collision of disparate melodies – all softened and soaked in reverb – feels almost reminiscent of Ligeti’s micropolyphonic experiments, becoming yet another mélange, like the overlapping sounds one might hear in a crowded space. And yet, it’s rather alarming how each instrumental segment of the track is affected to such a degree that despite their individual characteristics, they flow seamlessly into each other.
As a vinyl release, Side B serves as a counterpoint to Side A. “Band” is essentially a truncated version of the main track, mixed in such a way to imply a band scenario in which all four elements are playing together. Consequently, the track is simultaneously less oppressive yet hardly less obscure. Finally, “Reset” feels like an inversion of the previous tracks – still mired in excess distortion and feedback, but somehow more immediate and more aggressive. The elements and processes are inherently the same, but the progression feels slightly more measured, even forceful. The distortion subsides, and the faint residuals of a voice and a light guitar passage slowly fade Tacit Receptor Observation Nodule out. It’s a challenging record, as one might expect from Robert Revell, but strangely more inviting than his other output… of course, that may not be saying much; your ears will likely still require some time to recover from the experience.