Afferents by Cutting Head: A Sonic Rorschach Test You Didn’t Know You Needed
Alright, let’s talk about Afferents. Released in 2015 by the enigmatic US-based duo Cutting Head, this album is not your go-to chillout playlist. Nope. If you’re into electronic music that feels like it crawled out of a glitchy fever dream, then congrats—you’ve just found your new obsession. Under the Hanged Man Recordings label, Cutting Head delivers a wild ride through Noise and Experimental sounds that’ll either make you nod your head or question all your life choices. Fair warning: it’s not for everyone.
Now, let me break it down. The tracklist reads like something you’d see on an old-school keyboard: ^, <, >, v. Minimalist? Sure. But don’t let that fool you—each track is packed with layers of sound that feel more like textures than melodies. Out of these, I gotta shout out two tracks that stuck with me long after the headphones came off.
First up: “^”. This one hits you right away with a wall of staticky noise that builds into what can only be described as controlled chaos. It’s like someone took a broken synth, smashed it against a brick wall, and somehow made art out of the mess. There are moments where it almost feels rhythmic, but just as you think you’ve got it figured out, BAM—it shifts again. That unpredictability? Love it or hate it, it keeps you hooked.
Then there’s “<”. Oh man, this one’s sneaky. At first, it lulls you in with low drones and faint echoes, almost meditative if you squint hard enough. But halfway through, things get...weird. Like, industrial machinery having an existential crisis weird. I caught myself zoning out to this one late at night, only to snap back when some ungodly screech popped up out of nowhere. Honestly? Kinda brilliant. It’s the kind of track that makes you wonder if the band was trying to summon eldritch horrors or just messing around in their studio. Either way, respect.
What’s wild about Afferents is how it refuses to play nice. It doesn’t care if you “get” it or not. Instead, it throws sound at you like paint splatters on a canvas, daring you to find meaning in the mess. And maybe that’s the point. Maybe Cutting Head isn’t making music so much as they’re crafting experiences—you know, the kind that sticks with you like a stubborn stain.
So yeah, here’s the thing: listening to Afferents felt less like reviewing an album and more like surviving an auditory obstacle course. By the end, I wasn’t sure whether I loved it or needed a nap (or both). But hey, isn’t that what experimental music is supposed to do? Mess with your brain a little?
Final thought: If aliens ever invade Earth and ask us to explain human creativity, I’m handing them this album. They’ll either beam us aboard their spaceship for further study or politely decline and leave us alone forever. Either outcome works for me.
