Total Folklore

The experimental electronic thrash that Dan Friel explores on his 2013 debut album, Total Folklore, has roots that go back a decade with his former band, the Brooklyn trio Parts & Labor. Here, Friel throws caution to the wind, taking risks that sometimes make for a challenging listen. The near-13-minute opening composition, “Ulysses,” contrasts modal notes on a synthesizer with gigantic, distorted bass mechanics, the type normally associated with similarly innovative recordings by Tristan Shone’s doom-drone project Author & Punisher. But Friel seems as interested in layering diametric sound textures over one another as he is in creating memorable melodies. With the following “Windmills,” he rubs blown-out vintage arcade tones against walls of static that sound influenced by Flying Saucer Attack’s David Pearce. “Valedictorian,” conversely, lets the keyboard melody be the salient element as gurgling electronic voices sing out over hardcore rhythms and more explosive sounds than Kevin Shields would know what to do with. “Badlands” closes with discordant temper tantrums.