Insatiable Wound - pain seeking behaviour

 

Insatiable Wound – pain-seeking behaviour – Cassette – self released – 2024

side a – pain-seeking behaviour. (recorded summer 2023).

side b – live recording. (Bristol 20/06/2023).

https://slowmurder.bandcamp.com/album/pain-seeking-behaviour

https://slowmurder.bandcamp.com/music

Insatiable Wound is a project by Jo Sheehy who also does Slow Murder. I saw them live at Birmingham Centrala recently and I was impressed enough to buy this cassette after the gig. I was also completely thrilled to meet Jo as I love the work of Slow Murder. The cover and free sandpaper strip also demonstrate their commitment to the colour green; Jo had green hair and was completely dressed in green for the show. I believe the sandpaper can optionally be used to administer pain to oneself while listening to the work.

The studio recording begins with contact mic sounds that are fed through distortion; feedback goes off at the same time. Both elements begin to accelerate into a faster paced sound, the feedback begins to wail as the distortion becomes increasingly abrasive and louder. The sound starts to get cut into to allow each element a short, shifting solo. The distortion becomes a woofing bass roar that is periodically cut into by the feedback, which is now a cutting, shouting sound, yelling out at the listener. A hum of drone stops everything so the sound can begin again, muffled bass goes off, the drone cuts in again, the feedback wails at the drone to signify the sudden end of the recording.

Live in Bristol begins as screaming feedback and a banging cacophony, this sounds way more energised than the recording as the shifts in noise come rapidly before anything can settle. Constant changes to the feedback and contact mics provide the movement of sound. I am sure I witnessed a combination of Jo, sandpaper and a contact mic to make noise, resulting in a head wound, when I saw the project play live – I am convinced that happens here. The distortion progresses to a roaring void that battles with the screaming of the feedback until it cuts out and ends.

A very good recording available from the links above.

Nothing and Nobody 2024.