Bagman - Men Who Solicit Sex.

Bagman – Men Who Solicit Sex – Black Psychosis – Cassette – 2019 – Black16.

A1. Men Who Solicit Sex Part I

A2. Men Who Solicit Sex Part II.

B1. Will.

B2. Men Who Solicit Sex Part III.

B3. Men Who Solicit Sex Part IV.

I sometimes think I am a bit Power Electronics lightweight; I feel tend to favour stuff from the personal, ambiguous perspective – I support, but I don’t fully engage. Then I remember that I listen to Bagman, I have loads of Bagman and Stark, I buy whatever he releases. This makes me realise I am a heavyweight listener as Bagman is the acid test, a Northern England one-man Hell. If you were playing Power Electronics Top Trumps, the Bagman card would annihilate most of the other cards of artists then and now.  

Men Who Solicit Sex begins with samples of news reports of women smuggled into the country and then forced to work as sex workers. News samples, recordings of sex workers introduce every track. All Harsh Noise Hell breaks out, this is a horrible eruption that is as raw as it gets. It’s as if he is saying “Never mind cool labels, deluxe vinyl, here, have some hell on a cassette.” This is just bass heavy blasts and roared vocals and sharp frequencies making a vile racket. Men Who Solicit Sex Part II uses a more juggling synth sound, again deep, bass heavy as the vocal is distorted beyond coherence, sharp frequencies tinged with distortion cut in. The vocal has more to say, it’s sharp as if quoting depictions or re-enactments of incidents. The simple display of synthesiser is more disturbing than the vocal and samples, I am not sure if I love or hate it – juggly jug, juggly jug, juggly jug… can’t remove that from my head.  

Will is more Alpha male Synthesizer demonstrations, Powerful drones and cut-up vocals intertwine; the vocal is distorted beyond being remotely coherent. Overpowering drones wade in to dominate everything, the noise annihilates itself a lot here - the vocal is ace.

The fourth Men Who Solicit sex is a complete noise explosion, the vocal is sharp, yet cut up and distorted; this time it borders on inhuman. The noise is full and massive as if using Harsh Noise Wall abuse but allowing things to come through frequently. Pulsations of sound occur frequently here; the sound judders a lot – this makes for a more effective explosion. The final Men Who Solicit Sex is infected and whispered as if poisoning your mind. As the sound drags and feedback tweaks in, the intensity rises, slowly, repeatedly and consistently. The low-end drones enter, things grow, threaten more and more. This is a prime example of lower end noise abuse.

Men Who Solicit Sex is social commentary at its very best. Roleplay and reality are mixed for maximum effect. I am off to try forgetting about this and will probably have nightmares in the process. Still my Top Trump card though.

Choppy Noodles 2019.