I.U.D.
Minimal, pounding, contagious noise-music.” – Artforum
“Channeling the industrial punch of early 90s bands like Front 242 and Meat Beat Manifesto, the twosome’s music features intensely layered drums and syncopated noise along with Bougatsos’ distinctive caterwauling voice.” – Interview Magazine
“I.U.D. doesn’t sound like anything else out there and in this world that’s certainly something to be celebrated.” – ANP Quarterly
The Social Registry is proud to break your bones with I.U.D. - Lizzi Bougatsos of Gang Gang Dance’s (vocals, percussion) new project. Teaming with Sadie Laska of Growing and Extreme Violence (the duo is known here as Mr. Egglesby and Lil’ Pickle - they have different names for each release), The Proper Sex is a downright brutal industrial clusterfuck that’s sure to fog the glasses of experimental music nerds and provide the catalyst for many a record store argument. Put The Boredoms, Einstürzende Neubauten, Meat Beat Manifesto, Tribe 8, Front 242 and some black metal tropes in a blender and then serve chilled at a party hosted by hyper-feminist vampires and you’re getting close to the sound on this one.
The record opens with “Daddy” – a dubbed out introduction that is immediately set aflame with clanged-out percussion, collaged loops and rapidfire 8-bit jet streams. “Glo Balls” mixes abrasive screaming with roaring guitars and inventive drum work. “Monk Hummer” is a pastiche of porn samples (harkening back to the band’s Dead Womb 7”) mixed with Himalayan chants – like Drum’s Not Dead-era Liars but more visceral and textured. “911” opens Side B with a mid 90s Boredoms/Crash Worship style drum breakdown. Samples clog the mix and rapidly fly across the spectrum on top of punk-inspired percussion. “Mary Unmargaret” catapults this formula into a religious nightmare. Bells clash with heavy distortion and a phase-shifted trance creates a dizzying effect. “Girls Just Wanna (Time To Have Sex)” closes the record and already wins the “best song title of 2009” competition.
Featuring some dark, chugging guitar work from Rites of Spring hero Mike Fellowes (Mighty Flashlight, Will Oldham), the track is a disconcerting tribal take on black metal. Recorded at Vacation Island Studios by Matt Boyton AKA Professor Funkenstein, The Proper Sex is creepy, relentless and (most of all) extremely fascinating. It’s a varied listen that reflects its influences and cover art – which mimics Sparks – to a stunning effect. Like Gang Gang Dance, these rhythms are already cemented in a listener’s head. It’s just that this journey might be a descent into the inferno rather than up to the heavens.
