Automating, Vol. 1

Collecting several Nurse With Wound tracks from various compilations from the early to mid-'80s, the Automating albums are a good place to start for someone who doesn't want to jump into the more conceptual releases with longer tracks. Not all the pieces are the same as the compilation tracks, with some being drastically changed. One example, the opening piece on Vol. 1, "Dueling Banjos," is actually two different compilation pieces superimposed on each other with added sounds for something completely new. Clunky military rhythms, noisy squalls of feedback, and a hilarious comedy bit about becoming a registered nurse add up to a strange and memorable cut. The delightfully titled "Stick That Chick & Feel My Steel Through Your Last Meal" is creepier and more jarring, as mutated sax and bizarre female vocals are collaged with crashes of percussion and abrupt juxtapositions. "Nana" and "Ciconia" offer more in the way of weird collage, while "I Was No Longer His Dominant" has spoken word with a minimalist backdrop of slowly shifting drones and silences. "Fashioned to a Device" is probably the weirdest piece among several very strange tracks, with bizarre chanting loops and a background guitar drone that changes textures, while the claustrophobia of the piece builds and builds. All in all, Automating, Vol. 1, like the companion Vol. 2, offers a great selection of material from this unusual artist.