Split Apex

Second batch of Split Apex tapes in following the immediate sell out of that painfully short first ru. If you missed that initial communique, here’s that rare second chance – A sharp blast of Raid might have been prematurely taken to Mosquitoes (posthumous CD retrospectives notwithstanding), but the inspiration has not died with it. Following on from Komare and last year’s UEVPD LP, Split Apex is the latest project to come from one of the band’s members. Outside of that, information remains a little thin on the ground, and it’s unclear if there’s anyone other than former bassist Peter Blundell involved. It certainly sounds characteristic of his work, the four tracks that comprise this self-titled cassette shaped by the kind of abstracted electronics, processed vocals and primitive bass rumble that cropped up in certain aspects of Mosquitoes music (mostly MOS-2/WOE002), whilst the relatively minimal arrangement makes some concession to his association with Komare, which probably means the name Split Apex functions as an effective descriptor as much as anything else. Blundell’s hard to parse spoken word contributions carry a little of both The Shadow Ring (and Lambkin’s Kye in general) and Robert Ashley’s Automatic Writing within them, and talk of This Heat’s penchant for deconstruction and anti-rock anti-formalism is never too far from anything connected to the Mosquitoes universe. Grand associations one and all, though this is undeniably its own thing, one of those special first dispatches that show little concern for convention whilst retaining a tricky-to-pin alien allure. I’ve just about forgiven their decision to end Mosquitoes – Split Apex helps resolve that tension somewhat, but I’m going to need more of it.