Noise is a
perpetual girls’ club, you say? Every show more of a clambake than a sausage
fest? Not so! In recent years, men have been making inroads into the genre pioneered
by such luminaries as Jarboe and Cosey Fanni Tutti. I’ve noticed a slowly
increasing number of guys at shows, and some of them aren’t even there with
their girlfriends! One new artist I checked out has proven that noise isn’t
just for ladies any more.
I recently saw newcomer
Verbis Diablo performing in support of his recent album Poison Pen, which consists of power
electronics in the vein of other young male noise artists like Debased God and
Lawnmower!Lacerated!Labia.
To be honest, I
didn’t expect much from this guy when he first came onstage. Verbis Diablo is a
one-man PE project consisting of a skinny, twinky, white prettyboy in his early
twenties: with those tattoo sleeves, that Boardwalk Empire haircut, and that
snug-fitting Fred Perry polo, I figured he’d be yet another ex-hardcore
trendhopper who only got into noise after he read some article on Brooklyn
Vegan or his girlfriend gave him a Puce Mary tape. But he ultimately impressed
me with his command of that table full of fancy pedals he must’ve bought with
Mommy’s money (although, ugh, digital processing, dude? Do you even analog? Guess
he’s still a novice with electronics), and overall I was pleasantly surprised
by his set. He gave off a noticeable masculine energy that distinguished him
from the sea of female noise musicians. It’s kind of inspiring that men in
noise are finally bringing something productive to the table.
Less interesting
were his vocals, which consisted of repeated screaming at the audience: it was
sort of ridiculous coming from such a handsome college boy. Why so much anger
so young, dude? What would a good-looking guy like him have to be so upset
about? Did his girlfriend just dump him? Maybe he was molested or something…?
It was a little difficult to take seriously and he was clearly trying very hard
to prove something to us. But hey, he’s young yet. Once he grows out of this
adolescent phase, I think Verbis Diablo has the potential to be just as good as
any woman noise musician.
Now, some would
say there’s unfair bias against men in the noise scene, but I believe discrimination is only there if you put it there. I don’t see gender: I only
care about talent, thank you very
much.
That’s why I think
you should really give your attention to Verbis Diablo instead of that other
buzzed-about name in boy noise, the infamous Purgative. This little trust-fund
prince is SO vastly overrated, you’ve got to wonder how much snatch he had to
lick to get all those headline gigs and positive press.
I
know it’s the elephant in the room, but let’s keep it real here: people
are only into Purgative because he’s a beefcake with washboard abs. If he
didn’t have a dick, nobody would care about his artsy version of “death
industrial.” (And judging by the crotch bulge in a recent photo from one of his
shows, I think it’s pretty clear that Purgative’s true appeal lies more in his
jeans than his quaint little suitcase of gear.)
Everybody
knows Purgative only got his big break because his girlfriend—who is herself a
well-established noise musician—used to write for Pitchfork and hooked him up
with a good review. Plus, he’s only been making noise for about ten years, yet
people are acting like he’s some kind of veteran of the scene. Meanwhile other,
far more talented artists (including a few men,
FYI) toil in obscurity for decades, releasing limited-edition tapes out of
their own basements without a fraction of the same publicity. Purgative isn’t
really in it for the music: he’s only gunning for female attention and
flaunting his hipster appeal with those super-cool leather jacket photo shoots
for Vice. What next, playing a show backed by major corporate sponsors? It’s
this sort of shit that’s killing the scene.
Granted,
I haven’t actually seen him live or listened to any of his albums in their
entirety, but a friend of mine (who is a man) went to one of his shows and said
it was disappointing. This one track of his that I streamed on Soundcloud makes
very apparent what Purgative is all about: just more moping and whining,
presumably about his personal life, instead of tackling something serious and
relevant like international geopolitics or string theory (which also begs the
question of why noise must be “about” anything at all). Boo hoo, trendy art
bros making emo noise: you’re totally deep and edgy. We get it. Now get over
high school already and quit ruining the genre.
