CxFx & enduser – Infant Farming

Here’s an interesting split, and it’s actually a proper split where both artists provide generally the same amount of material instead of it leaning more towards one of them, as we often see, becoming more like a 3/4 or 1/16 non-split 7″.  CxFx, previously titled as Cheezface, is a bizarre breakcore/noisecore act from out of Charlotte, NC, that this reviewer has had the pleasure of playing with on at least two occasions.  With a number of releases to his name, as well as some connections to the Providence underground, there was no better pairing for him on a split than the legendary enduser (so many spellings on his damn name we’ll stick with that one), who we’ve encountered via labels like powerhouse Ad Noiseam, whose mix of jungle and various core-type electronic compositions would make Skinny Puppy proud and then stop playing music altogether.   Putting these two together was probably an ideal concept achieved, because their styles are at once similar and different, which makes for an excellent listen overall, defining what a split should be from here on out, though this one doesn’t have an overarching theme.  Infant Farming, as this 7″ is called, makes up for lack of that with tons of musical variety.  We’ll be highlighting some of each musician’s work for this particular review separately, with some brief commentary at the end, for obvious reasons.

 

Infant Farming opens with three tracks from CxFx, who’s come a long way since we first encountered him at Deaf Sparrow a few years ago when one of our older reviewers received a copy of his last full-length album, Circumstantial Pestilence.  The name change, additional member, and live set-up is recent as he prepares for a new release.  CxFx covers what the usual, modern breakcore artist sets out to do, confound.  Breakcore is probably one of the most diffuse genres in modern music, simply because there tends to be a lack of melody, with more of a heavy focus on sample usage, often extraordinarily obscure.  That being said, even for breakcore CxFx is highly unusual, as these three tracks prove.  These guys give the listener no time to fathom what’s being done.  There’s practically a new element to be found with every listen, so dense are the sample layers, and everything comes so fast it takes at least five listens to comprehend any of it.  Combine this with extremely rapid tempo and style shifts, and you’re in for a confusing ride, but one that’s a pleasure.  Nothing beats confusion of this variety, where jazz rolls and trumpet samples suddenly give way to rapid roaring and breakneck beats.  There’s also a touch of humor to the mix, which provides another layer of creation, also welcome.  Musicians who don’t take themselves entirely seriously are an almost needed experience in this era of pompous genre-hopping.  On to the next.

  

That brings us next to enduser, who finishes off Infant Farming with two tracks.  Starting with “I Am The Devil”, the listener is given a sound that closely fits the work of CxFx presented here, but then leads into a slower-beat track to end it off with more of a sampling of what he has to offer.  This was probably the perfect selection of tracks for him to use, because it at once showcases his general direction while fitting more with the style of CxFx as the album leads into his work.  The first one, already mentioned, has the majority of the power, with an awesome beat-run near the middle that survives repeated listens.  His final one, “There’s a Knife in My Pocket”, degrades readily into noise-based beats, but there’s still a touch of what came before to make it a viable track to select.  Overall, great listen, but finally, friends, we get to the only real problem with this release.  CxFx has provided three tracks that are totally new, which he does for everything he releases, as far as we know.  enduser, however, in spite of his mastery of programming techniques, created one new track, and then selected another from a previous compilation from 2007.  This is not to say anything about it qua sound, but if there’s one thing this reviewer doesn’t like on a split, it’s previously released songs.  To enduser’s credit, he couldn’t have picked a better one to link all of the material here, but it would have been nice to see another fresh track that’s never been used before, even if it was originally released on a comp from a label that’s done nothing else.  Still, this 7″ provides an awesome selection of breakcore-styled craziness that fans of the genre, or any of the other cores, will have no problem spinning.  We’ve included below a link to the actual label, the band links were posted earlier for your convenience.

 

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Written by Stanley Stepanic

CxFx & enduser – Infant Farming
Mock Radar
4 / 5