Notes From The Record Room: Birth (Defects), Emma Ruth Rundle, SLIFT
Record Room: Sunday, 6/7
With week 1 of the year’s halfway mark now behind us, my list of albums to review is daunting to say the least. Both March and May didn’t leave much by way of free time, and I’ve found myself paralyzed whenever the opportunity arises for me to listen and scribble (or, type), feeling as though I have to make progress on a block of projects instead of just finishing one and working on the next item in the queue. This absence hasn’t made much for retaining interest I’m sure.
Anyway, it’s a warm Sunday evening. Quiet. Uneasy, somehow.
I ordered a live cassette called Will Shatter Rides Again, a grimy noise rock release from the band Birth (Defects). This album was released on the 1st of May by Anathemata Editions, which is a label run by Locrian’s Terence Hannum.
The snarling, feedback-encumbered “Youth” possesses the sort of aural disregard worthy of an album titled in tribute to Will Shatter (of Flipper, if you’re not in the know), incessant howls burying the vocals as the six-string revs up, a bucket-like snare and crash barely peaking through the tumult. It sounds like the right kind of violence, the sort that energizes.
The cassette is yellow and stored in a library case with a booklet and a sticker. Issued as a series of 100.
Links:
Anathmata Editions — Official
Emma Ruth Rundle issued an impassioned new single this week titled, “Powerless,” the apparent opening track from Rundle’s upcoming release, These Killing Times.
Myself a fan since her days in Marriages, Emma Ruth Rundle’s work carries with it an honesty that can at times be either breathtaking or overwhelming. “Powerless” was meant as a reaction to her own despondency following the revelation that a one-time figure of admiration, in this case Noam Chomsky, had ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The loss of faith and trust is clear, the disheartenment inarguable.
“This song was initially titled ‘Noam Chomsky is Dead to Me’ - as his relationship to Epstein and the billionaire class was being exposed - just another massively disappointing headline in a time where we are incessantly confronted with an onslaught of news and headlines which are endlessly demoralising and dehumanising.”
Links, knowledge, and sounds were handed over courtesy of Rarely Unable:
These Killing Times asks us questions of our intentions and of the roles we play in the communities we exist within, and how we choose to counter the chokehold of capitalism. Sleepless nights, moments of horror, and times of anguish could be overlaid atop a timeline of recent socio-political events to map the creation of These Killing Times; the rising power of Christian nationalism, the grotesque circus of political discourse, and related ontological discomfort. But there is also love - as a balm and a tonic, a means of escape. A desire for companionship and connection whilst being confronted by the most violent parts of humanity remains an unresolved tension.
Written as she watched from afar the devastating effects of yet another climate disaster unfold in early 2025, Emma reflected on the roots of the systemic issues that filter directly into so many catastrophic global events, and made a conscious choice to reach towards making a hopeful record. Where outside forces tempted her to turn inwards, towards isolation and hopelessness, she instead reached outwards to create a record that acknowledges pain, but offers both community and resilience in response.
Bringing others into the fold was both a stylistic choice and one that strengthened her community-first approach to making the record.
“I wanted to feel fortified by friendships and to be in community with other musicians - to make something that pushed back against the isolation,” says Emma.
These Killing Times adds to Rundle's extensive genre-defying discography which includes collaborative projects, bands, soundtracks, and solo releases. The album was recorded by Sonny Diperri (My Bloody Valentine, Trent Reznor, These New Puritans), who she has worked with on multiple releases over the last decade.
In addition to her work in music, Emma is an established visual artist working across multiple disciplines. In 2025, her first book of poetry, The Bella Vista, was released via Unnamed Press.
Emma Ruth Rundle Live Dates:
Jun 19-21: Cascading Midsummer =
Oct 10: Chattanooga, TN - The Signal ~
Oct 11: Ponte Vedra Beach, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall ~
Oct 12: Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club ~
Oct 13: Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall ~
Oct 14: Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre ~
Oct 15: Norfolk, VA - The NorVa ~
Oct 16: Harrisburg, PA - XL Live ~
Oct 17: Asbury Park, NJ - The Stone Pony ~
Oct 18: Norwalk, CT - District Music Hall ~
Oct 19: Portsmouth, NH - 3S Artspace ~
Oct 20: South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground ~
Oct 21: Albany, NY - Empire Live ~
Oct 22: Buffalo, NY - Electric City ~
Oct 23: McKees Rocks, PA - Roxian Theatre ~
Oct 24: Indianapolis, IN - HI-FI Annex ~
Oct 25: Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection ~
Oct 26: Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom ~
Oct 27: Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue ~
Oct 28: Des Moines, IA - Wooly's ~
Oct 29: Bloomington, IL - The Castle Theatre ~
Oct 30: Cincinnati, OH - Bogart's ~= Performing solo
~ Performing solo, supporting All Them Witches
For me, it was the space-infused wanderlust of SLIFT’s 2020 headphones-only listen, UMMON, that acted intro to the band’s vast, multi-act sonic travelogues. Hearing how “Fantasia,” the title track to SLIFT’s latest LP, demonstrates a more concise, albeit with the band’s heavy cosmic reach still intact, approach to their song craft, I’m immediately drawn to the emotional resonance. It’s almost as if the band put Sunny Day Real Estate’s Diary on repeat while tapped into the moods and modes of science fiction. “Fantasia” is both elating and cathartic, somehow invigorating the senses to meditate but aggressively.
Links, knowledge, and sounds were handed over courtesy of Stereo Sanctity:
Every previous album by the radiant and heavy French trio SLIFT has been a fantasia: a composite of genres and forms that allowed the band to improvise and jam on themes until they spiralled together into space. Their acclaimed third album, 2024’s Ilion, was built from 10- to 13-minute exploratory escapades, often starting with doom metal or stoner rock before spinning freely into glorious instrumental oblivion. But, in a bit of intentional irony, SLIFT’s fourth album is actually called Fantasia — and it’s their leanest and most direct record to date. Across eight songs and less than 50 minutes, the band distil the complexity and intensity of their past into lean, agile and punchy anthems, not wasting a single second in the process.
Fantasia reckons directly with the modern onslaught of cruelty and absurdity, but its pointed saga of international upheaval is ultimately driven by hope: by trusting in some hidden power for fighting back, for believing in a world where something we cannot yet articulate or define offers not just a way to disrupt the status quo but perhaps to destroy it completely. Loud, heavy and aggressive, these songs weave together layers of complexity like a tapestry that reveals something new each time you look, capturing a band bearing down with newfound focus and urgency.
'Fantasia'is now available on CD/2xLP/Digitally worldwide from Sub Pop. 2xLP preorders in North America through megamart.subpop.com and in the UK/EU from Mega Mart Europe will receive the limited Loser Edition on Mustard Yellow (North America) and Sparkle Starlight (UK/EU) coloured vinyl. The limited Loser Editions will also be available at your local record store while supplies last.SLIFT tour dates:
EU, Spring and Summer 2026
5 June – Tampere, Finland – Ankea Festival
18 June – Vannes, France – Festival Echopark
19 June – Clisson, France – Hellfest
27 June – Lärz, Germany – Fusion Festival
29 June – Paris, France – L'Olympia
3 July – Hérouville-Saint-Clair, France – Festival Beauregard
8 August – Josefov, Czech Republic – Brutal Assault Festival
15 August – Carhaix, France – Motocultor Festival
US, Fall 2026
6 October – Boston, MA – The Sinclair
7 October – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge (LPR)
8 October – Washington, DC – The Atlantis
9 October – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
10 October – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
11 October – Detroit, MI – El Club
13 October – Chicago, IL – Outset
14 October – Saint Paul, MN – Turf Club
16 October – Denver, CO – Bluebird
20 October – Seattle, WA – Neumos
21 October – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
23 October – San Francisco, CA – August Hall
24 October – Los Angeles, CA – Pacific Electric
EU/UK, Fall 2026
17 November – Ramonville-Saint-Agne, France – Le Bikini
18 November – La Rochelle, France – La Sirene
19 November – Nantes, France – Stereolux
20 November – Rennes, France – Antipode
23 November – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
24 November – Groningen, Netherlands – Vera
25 November – Hamburg, Germany – Knust
26 November – Berlin, Germany – Lido
27 November – Prague, Czech Republic – Subzero
28 November – Frankfurt, Germany – Zoom
30 November – Zurich, Switzerland – Plaza
1 December – Milan, Italy – Circolo Arci Bellezza
2 December – Villeurbanne, France – Le Transbordeur
3 December – Strasbourg, France – La Laiterie
4 December – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique
5 December – Lille, France – L'Aéronef
8 December – Dublin, Ireland – Academy Dublin
10 December – Manchester, UK – Gorilla
11 December – Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms
12 December – Bristol, UK – Thekla
13 December – London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall
EU, February 2027
3 February – Porto, Portugal – M.Ou.Co
4 February – Lisbon, Portugal – República da Música
5 February – Madrid, Spain – Copérnico
6 February – Madrid, Spain – Sala Wolf
Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead
