Though the imagery in their name and track titles skews toward the twisted, Skull Defekts are a surprisingly tranquil bunch, at least in aural terms. The Swedish troupe, comprised at its core by Ideal Records head Joachim Nordwall and Henrik Rylander, have released a small horde of largely domestic vinyl, cds, and cd-rs, with Skkull their first offering for the consistently intriguing Release the Bats! imprint. Aided on this disc by Jean-Louis Huhta, Nordwall and Rylander have crafted four tracks of blemished beauty, cold electronics with a steely allure that succumb to various forms of imperfection and tarnish. Like a cruel child might play with a small insect, Skull Defekts are perfectly happy to watch their creations hitch and falter, but even their decimation comes in in a storm of calm; the trio, even at their harshest, operate purposefully and without any sort of sonic histrionics, noisemakers who are more coolheaded surgeons than chainsaw-weilding maniacs.
The instant is begins, "Sex Fracture" is flawed: a terse fragment disappears just as the track sets off, perhaps eliciting worries of a damaged disc in more fretful listeners, and setting the stage for seven minutes of false starts, halted motions, and hindered trajectories. The track is a near constant construction zone, with a pair of intermittent tones invaded by grainier voices, and dissolved in a thick static rain. Ever persisting, the main theme returns repeatedly, only to be battered, obscured, or dissolved once again. The grittier factions win out, and the track ends in a slow, gravelly decrescendo. Much of Skkull follows suit; with largely staid infrastructures slowly invaded by rogue sound elements which are often no more chaotic than their host, but certainly more corrosive. This musical parasitism is of a subtle variety, "Six Six For Eyes," for instance, never succumbs to its hangers on, despite near constant harassment. Release the Bats!' website showcases the Defekts in their full quartet line-up, posed in a dentists' office, and the imagery is spot-on, given the group's rather clinical approach and the gristly nature of their work.
Perhaps it's the stereotypical Nordic character that fuels Skull Defekts' work, or maybe they simply enjoy the methodical nature of what, in the case of Skull, often amounts to rather simple sonic addition. Whatever the reason, there's a calmness to their music that belies a construction, even, perhaps, composition, that's far more orderly than initial impression might show. There's a clarity and cleanliness that defines Skkull, and though Skull Defekts don't seem to mind getting dirty, one gets the notion that no matter what audio detritus they track in on the soles of their shoes, it'll be put to good use.
