To me, Outer Nothingness’ Storm Debris is the soundtrack to James Joyce’s “A Painful Case”, a story I recently revisted. It symbolizes both the frank realization of loss, and represents a paralysed life by way of its melancholic, atmospheric loops — i.e. repetitions of memories stirring and replaying, eating at Mr. Duffy (the protagonist of “A Painful Case”), as well as the passive comfort Mr. Duffy experiences in his monotonous day to day life.
Now, comparisons can (and will) be made to other such loop based artists as The Caretaker or William Basinski, and this is fine and fairly accurate, but the stubborn, mournful music of Outer Nothingness deserves its own consideration, in spite of similarity or influence.
An overall consistency occurs throughout the ten tracks of Storm Debris. Sounds are sometimes added atop one another, heightened by reverb and delay, and sometimes simple, repetitive phrases are left to circle themselves to death. They are all stationary moments, though, defiant in their repetition. To be stuck in the comfort of their loop, to be entangled with their ease and consistency is a trap; a beautiful trap, but still a trap. Only with their end do you realise that such suffocation is unhealthy. To revisit the past over and over; to be buried in nostalgia; to repeat until timelessness is reached can be drowning. I mean, look at what happened to that unhappy bastard, Mr. Duffy. Luckily for us, these are just songs: not our lives. Phew!
All of the cassettes are sold out from Phinery, but be on the lookout for copies to show up at distro sites like Apothecary Compositions, Tomentosa Records, and from other underground hoarders and suppliers. In the meantime, stream the entirety of Storm Debris below.
• Outer Nothingness: https://outernothingness.bandcamp.com
• Phinery: http://phinery.net
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