nos. 1 & 2

SBM004 - Compilation of two digital EPs, collected and released on pro-dubbed + screened cassettes in July 2012, limited & hand #'d /50.
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Side A
Music in Five Parts for Guitar, Feedbacker, and Looper I-V, recorded live Feb 17th 2012
Side B
6) This is How it Started
7) The Little Lantern
8) My Shadow and I
9) Adriano Meis
10) A Bit of Fog



"For those familiar with Bitter Fictions’ earliest work, which excellently straddled the line between overblown noise-rock and ’90s slack-pop, this tape might come as a surprise. This, like Friesen’s recent work in Percolator Glitch and Looper Pedal Blues, is instrumental and largely improvised; what’s surprising, however, is that Nos. 1 & 2 is Friesen’s most accessible work yet. Relying heavily on the delay pedal, each track begins with minimal guitar strums, with Friesen continually piling on scraps of texture and feedback; as a result, each track feels like it’s in perpetual motion, ending far differently than it began. Most pleasantly, though, each track possesses a distinctive tone: Shimmery openers “This is How it Started” and “The Little Lantern” are calmingly psychedelic; the shuddering “Adriano Meis” is mechanically soothing; “A Bit of Fog” turns feedback into a menacing, ugly soundscape. Indeed, Friesen’s firm command of mood is what makes this so listenable — and at times, it’s hard to believe Nos. 1 & 2 was improvisational at all." - Mark Teo, FFWD Weekly


If I were to come out the gate saying these are improvised noise-recordings (as their author has titled them) you would expect to hear something rather different than what Friesen has given us here. Many of the usual tropes of improvised noise have been expertly side-stepped on no. 1. Friesen’s loops do not descend into monotonous obscurity, nor do they feel entirely script-less despite their spontaneity. Rather, these pensive compositions are imbued with a patience and control that continues to build a focused atmosphere of suspense and despair. It is all very cathartic." - Joe Gurba, Argue Job