Bruce Gilbert: In Esse

Experimental electronic noise doesn't often see widespread distribution, let alone support from the label that launched the likes of Depeche Mode and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. But with a pedigree that includes the oft-covered punk/electronic-pop band Wire and the experimental sound-collage group Dome, Bruce Gilbert has not had that problem. His new, three-song In Esse spans 57 minutes, most of which is dominated by the lengthy first track's distorted short-wave static bursts. The second and third tracks feature tones akin to a humming refrigerator with minor variations in pitch, and are ambient to the point where the songs change with the room tone. Bands like The Hafler Trio make similar soundscapes, but don't have nearly the label and media support Gilbert does. If you're strictly a verse-chorus-verse kind of person, move rapidly out of earshot; In Esse's unstructured, avant-garde noise will annoy the hell out of you. Otherwise, it's worth looking into.