If there's one thing you can expect from Weasel Walter's ugEXPLODE label it's no-frills, in-your-face music characterized by an extremely volatile dynamic level. This nameless disc, containing four improvised tracks by the label honcho on drums and percussion, Sandy Ewen on electric guitar and Damon Smith on bass, is no exception.

I certainly don't have to rant obsessively about the individual approaches of these three. A quick YouTube search allows you to observe all that must be known, especially Ewen's exploitation of abrasive objects and metal bars to rub on pickups and strings amidst additional preparations. The timbres obtained in this way exalt the most hostile and dirtiest harmonics, at the same time warranting a fretboard action totally free of "linear design" typologies (ironically enough, Ewen is an architect).

The timbral partnership offers assorted instances of "wealthy noise" fulfilment, together with snippets of more rarefied finesse. Smith is capable of highlighting the molecular bonds within the resonance of his bass, manhandled into sonorities that can be rich in roaring frequencies or harsh as an overdose of vinegar. Walter — as per his usual — is able to transition from the boisterous hyperactivity of a counter-intuitive technique to out-and-out silence in the space of a few instants, maintaining an impeccable control on the inter-relational aspects of the trio while deciding — consciously or less — which spot is better to hit of the percussive arsenal to indicate another direction to follow.

The confidence between the performers is clearly discernible; their ability to capitalize on each other's intuitions is equally evident. Poor reviewers looking for ridiculously empty words to define what is simply best to listen to are left with inviting readers to do exactly that. Grab the headphones, set aside seventy minutes, and forget the existence of your wife and kids. Ewen, Smith and Walter won't drag you down a hole with Pictures At An Exhibition. If anything, the guerrilla-like interplay invites us to shut up for a little while longer, in order to regroup after the record's over.