THE COUNTY REEVE recorded: 2011-2012 / released: 2012 label: Bankruptcy (BMP009) format: Digital Download issue: unlimited running time: 35:23 aka: Chapous Ahatonhia *written by Jean de Brebeuf / Jesse Edgar Middleton

01: Crokinole 02: Starlings 03: Crypt of the Arrow 04: The Bowl 05: E.O.A. 06: A Sleeveless Errand 07: Huron Carol* 08: Weather

As if the above weren't enough, Chapeau has since released another fine album for your listening pleasure. It's very much in the same vein as the previous album, although there are a few surprises this time around -- like the droning intro and featherlight tinkling on "Starlings," for instance -- but mainly the songs here are working the same techno / noise axis as the songs on EVERLASTING PILL, just in a different variety of ways. Heavy beats and machine noises feature heavily in "Crypt of the Arrow," for instance, along with more of the black metal shrieking vocals underneath the heavy machine grind, and "The Bowl" is another track that combines glitch noise elements and simple, muted piano with slow beats. "E.O.A." and "A Sleeveless Errand" carry on in similar fashion, advancing the band's previous work in grafting twisted noise onto techno beats (or, in the later case, dispensing with beats entirely). "Huron Carol" is one of the more interesting ones, with a drum sound and beat that could have been lifted from one of the early Godflesh albums, but it's less heavy than hypnotic, and the droning bass and gothic synths probably owe more to post punk luminaries like Public Image Ltd. and the Cure. The final track, "Weather," is one of the more bizarre tracks on the album, sounding like a tweaked techno interpretation of a honky-tonk song being buzz-bombed with the occasional burst of noise and eccentric, reverb-laden vocals. Overall, it's not quite as flat-out amazing as the previous album, but it's still a solid listening experience that manages to tie together several different genres in a highly unorthodox and interesting fashion. - The One True Dead Angel, 2012