The government might be on shutdown mode, but that doesn’t mean the IRS has taken any breaks this January. Tax season still begins on the 28, and ZYJK2 / SDFSD* is determined to remind you that performing one’s civic duty is indeed punk rock.
The third of many small releases published this year by prolific netlabel 7FORM, ZZZZZZZ / YYYYYYY is as subtle as a W-2 form shoved in your face: it opens with a 17-minute “tax fraud suite” that mashes IDM drum breaks between squelching soundscapes and modern-classical ventures with bureaucratic excess. It’s a mad rush of data, once organized, now freed from the shackles of designation: your filing cabinet upturned in a pool of manila folder spew. The suite ultimately follows a tragic narrative, regressing from jittery trip-hop into a tar pit of rhythmic goo.
The six tracks left in its wake are less ambitious — none last longer than three and a half minutes. “File Your Taxes,” an urgent breakcore excursion, and Clams Casino homage “Fraud” are the best of these snippets, hinting at an elegance behind the opener’s cacophonic energy.
*This isn’t a split release. That’s the artist’s full name.
More about: ZYJK2 / SDFSD
