Weird Ugly Fish

Taking a break from classification the Lithuanian duo Weird Ugly Fish continue to bash out their quirky take on creative music which mixed EDM and Punk with protracted improvisations. Not for the faint-hearted, the two tracks of Cannot Disappear project the same uncompromising mix of weighty back beats and rumbles from drummer Aistė Kalvelytė mixed with Julius Čepukėnas’ approach to electronics which encompasses synthesizer squeezes, organ-like resonations and voltage oscillations that lead to timbral repetition and dislocation. The Vilnius-based players bring varied experience to the band whose English name is translated from Keista Bjauri žuvis. Čepukėnas also performs solo electronics as URBA, while Kalvelytė, also a visual artist, plays in several experimental noise bands.

Noise of course is relative since the idea behind Cannot Disappear is not to let occasional linear interludes disappear underneath the crashing cacophony expressed as mostly tension with very little release. The vigor of the disc is continuously reinforced by the drummer’s ruffs, rebounds and rumbles which provide the backbeat tapestry at various tempos and stresses. Jabbing and stopping motifs Čepukėnas moves from soaring squeals to clipping patterns with two or more tones often distinct most of the time. He also specializes in repetition. Once he isolates a certain pattern he seems not to be content until he can reproduce it another 10 or so times. This is where shifts in speed, pitch and timbre that could come from standalone instruments come into play. Nasal cries, thickened drones and dot-dash stabs help break up the solidified interface. Percussion rattles and splashes also help.

With this disc, Weird Ugly Fish members have confirmed that the sound variation they have created cannot disappear. But as the Lithuanian duo aims for their fifth anniversary as a band it would seem that active contemplation should go into figuring out how to broaden the sound to express more textures without negating its idiosyncratic individuality.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Swimless 2, Drownless

Personnel: Aistė Kalvelytė (drums) and Julius Čepukėnas (electronics)