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CHORD IV

by CHORD

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1.
half life 07:41
2.
august 02:42
3.
death spiral 10:39
4.
at an end 02:03
5.
rise 14:59

about

Fourth release by CHORD. Heavy, deep listening electric guitar music seething with boiling metal feedback and distortion.

CHORD IV takes another leap forward for the band. Listening through from beginning to end immerses the listener in a profound sonic journey that begins with the wrenching agonies of “half life” and leaves us with the ecstatic and dark ascension of “rise”.

CHORD uses amp distortion, feedback, tone shaping, and musical artifacts to craft a viscous universe of ecstatic, immersive textures that reward careful, detail-rich listening.

Get physical CD at www.punosmusic.com/chord/

"...this is the eerie lyricism of enunciated pain. A grainy image of descent and redemption, ultimately optimistic, grimly and sardonically joyous." - Dave Foxall, A Jazz Noise

"Now here’s one that’ll do your head in. Like big, brawny, heavier’n hell guitar experiments? Amp-sizzling, feedback freakin’, balls-to-the-walls gee-tar noisewag? Look no further than the mighty, meaty, metal majesty that is Chord. Comprised of longtime downtown stalwart Nick Didkovsky (of perennial local outfits Dr. Nerve and Bone, and participant in the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet) and fellow string-slasher Tom Marsan, Chord is fast, fleet, and fierce, and, true to its moniker, a veritable quakebasket of a beast, pulverizing the soundstage with its twenty thickly-callused fingers. This duo drinks deep of its antecedents, many of them inhabitants of the same concrete island: Rhys Chatham and his hydra-headed ensembles, Lou Reed’s metal machine orgasms, Elliott Sharp’s thorny fret-skronk and bullish distortion. But lest you think this is an exercise in absolute harmonic dissonance—well, yes, it surely trucks in that area, no doubt about it—such a kneejerk exclamation does this abject lesson in textural confrontationalism a grand disservice. This be no party, this be no disco, neither rock nor jazz but filtered through both, neither free nor confined to any defined ethos, in fact, no way to pin a simple categorical tail on this kickin’ donkey. Didkovsky is by any measure a great guitarist; he’s expanded the outer bands of his instrument, particularly through the auspices of Dr. Nerve, under heavy manners few have considered, and though it’s difficult to figure out who’s doing what across these five sonic briquettes, Marsan’s skills ain’t chopped liver, either. What’s really telling about Chord’s full-on embracing of bent-string tech is that there’s obvious intelligence at work here, cast within the intrinsic joys of beautifully sculpted feedback, amplifier autopsy, and mid-range madness, two guys simply getting their ya-ya’s out in pure, unadulterated glee. So, ’tis not just noise, boyz ’n’ girlz, all evidence to the contrary; there’s intent, substance, and true grit amongst them thar gnash. “Half Life” gets right to it, full of trembling earache where notes snarl as they coalesce, sputtering, elongating, then finally fading down in a picture perfect coda. The mere two-plus minutes of “August” dials back the ferocity to reveal a pensive study of blissful strokes and coiled tension. “Death Spiral” does just that, but you might be surprised how engaging the journey actually is, our two dudes sluggin’ fer Jesus as they trade licks laced with arsenic, their frets dripping with acid. “At An End” spends another brief two minutes introducing the duo’s contemplative side, something of a breather before “Rise” tears the air apart with its immense tonal fluctuations and galvanizing, whiplash effects, Didkovsky and Marsan stripping what little meat is left off the bone. Thankfully there’s so much to chew on here that guitar aficionados, hirsute noiseniks, and all sorts of aural entrepreneurs will never starve. Strings speaking truth to power—in spades." - Darren Bergstein, Downtown Music Gallery

"If doom metal is an extreme closeup version of Black Sabbath, then CHORD is a further extrapolation, showcasing for those with ears to hear the infinite varieties of heavy guitar texture." - Ken Shimamoto, The Stash Dauber

"CHORD is pure, genre-less guitar excess for the lover of electrically amplified vibrations. It’s pure noise, but also form, movement, (d)evolution, and warmth… no sterile technical indulgence this; CHORD is excess done with love. To the sound…" - Dave Foxall, A Jazz Noise

"...a brutal cascade of sonic artifacts that immerse the listener in a beautiful sea of noisy guitar textures dripping down the walls... slow moving ambient slabs of free-metal." - Peter Thelen, Exposé

credits

released August 6, 2021

Nick Didkovsky - electric guitar
Tom Marsan - electric guitar
All tracks performed live and in real-time with no overdubs.

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about

Doctor Nerve New York, New York

Nick Didkovsky is a guitarist and composer from NYC

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