Robert Ziino- Plastic Loves Global Warming

Artist: Robert Ziino
CD Title: Plastic Loves Global Warming
Label: Experimental Artists
Reviewer: Matthew Johnson
Date: 5/8/06

Experimental composer Robert Ziino has gotten a bit less tripped out in his approach to music since his last album. While psychedelic influences are still evident in song titles like "Breast Eggplant" and "Buddha & The Blueberry Wizard," the music itself is more industrial, full of oscillating motor effects that range from broken chainsaw to broken dentist drill. He's also gotten a lot less soothing and a lot more grating. "Mummy Crazy" is chaotic and tense, and title track "Plastic Loves Global Warming" is a nervewracking expedition into random analog effects. Even more interestingly, several of Ziino's latest compositions utilize drum machines, with the distorted beats of "Camera Up Uranus" and "GMOs Meet PMS" in particular being almost reminiscent of power noise. "I'm Not Perfect" is also rhythmic, if no less weird, with laid-back breakbeats under a panoply of alternating whirrs. More challenging than previous releases, the tracks on this CD have one quality that's annoying even to seasoned veterans of extreme noise: each track is limited to exactly five minutes, and each tends to cut off without warning. Even if you're sinking into the trance-like effect of screeching tones, just when you start to enjoy the interplay of buzzes, the song ends without the decency of a slow fade-out. It's likely that Ziino's doing this for a reason, but it's hard to figure out exactly what that reason must be. Still, it's an interesting approach to composition, and this album certainly lives up to Ziino's title as an "Experimental Artist."

Visit Ziino on the Web at https://www.experimentalartists.com for more information.