Since 1990, Pittsburgh’s Joe Roemer and Rodger Stella have been relishing in humanity’s deepest, darkest desires and impulses. Themes of violence, odd physiological phenomena, and sexual deviance (i.e., all the ‘typical’ noise tropes) have found their way into Macronympha releases. The project’s own name means ‘elongated labia,’ as observed in female members of the Hottentot tribe. So yeah, these dudes don’t pull punches.
“Super Oxide” is a collection of early Macronympha tracks dating from between 1990 and 1993, with Stella himself taking charge of the mixing and editing of the material for re-release. Each of the duo’s various ‘styles’ is covered here: full-on distorto-noise, blown-out metallic bash/clang and demonic tape loop destruction. Immediate stand-outs include the jump-cut wooze of opener “Almost Human” and the looped harangue that is “Tempus Interludium.” As a matter of fact, the latter piece appears to forecast some of the material from Aaron Dilloway’s “Modern Jester” double LP, which was released not too long ago. Hmm….
So what we have is a solidly-built compendium of an important element of the American noise underground. Most of the music here is previously unreleased or ‘under-released,’ which makes getting a copy of this beast that much more pertinent. So go on, let your head explode: take in some Macronympha.
