Sometimes, you listen to something that makes you question what music really is. John Cage, avant-garde composer, famously considered all sound, or lack thereof, to be music. There’s the Ben Shapiro definition of music, which is that it requires “melody, harmony, and rhythm” in order to be classified as music—Shapiro is of course about as objectively wrong as you can be on a subjective subject and I, in theory, lean more towards Cage’s approach. If your song sounds like you’re doing dishes while a machine whirs in the background: yeah, that’s music.

But then it comes to practice, and when I hear the song “Greyzone,” the second track off the album Mass For Dead Insects by MSBR & Blazen y Sharp, which does indeed sound like someone doing dishes while a machine whirs in the background, I start to second guess myself. “Should I consider this music?” I ask myself as dishes clatter and the whirring gets faster. Not that it sounds bad, per say, but it doesn’t seem particularly musical.

Pictured: album cover. Insect species is unknown.

Now, there are tracks on here that I do enjoy and am more musically inclined to. The last track, “Nightcrawler 2” by MSBR (some songs are by both artists, some are solo), is a 10-minute track consisting of an almost-unchanging high-pitched drone with a quieter, lower note played underneath and ends with a phone call in Spanish (I think). You, the reader, may wonder how this is more musical to me than “Greyzone.” The answer is that I’ve also been wondering that myself.

Overall, a lot of these songs can be described as sounding like other less-musical things. “Nightcrawler 1” sounds like a helicopter flying overhead as someone walks down an alleyway. “Balungan” sounds like a man sneaking around a house rummaging through things. There are many points on the album where it just sounds like people using tools.

Pictured: MSBR, 1/3 of MSBR & Blazen y Sharp, working his tools.

Although I am pointing out the many traditionally non-musical elements about this album, I don’t mean it in a negative way. This album is effective at bringing forward a feeling of dread in the most minimal way possible. It’s surprising because many of these songs seem to be composed of two or three elements, yet are still unsettling. Imagine walking down an empty alleyway at night while a helicopter searches for someone (maybe you) overhead, or hiding in a room while a stranger’s steps creak over the floorboard, or working with tools. All the tracks can soundtrack your sense of fear if you get absorbed in it. On that note, one thing I need to mention is that the album is a much more immersive (to me at least) when listening on speakers. Most of my listens were on headphones, but when I finally got a chance to blast it on some quality speakers (courtesy of KSUA studio equipment) it felt more complete, like some atmosphere that had previously been missing was fully realized.

So, would I describe this as “musical?” My heart says yes but my brain says no. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting experience if you’re willing to devote your attention to it.

Mass For Dead Insects Summary Thing

Artist: MSBR & Blazen y Sharp

Title: Mass for Dead Insects

Recommended: 3,9

Restricted: clean

Genre: Noise, Ambient, Instrumental

Comments: Subdued ambient dread.

[Editor’s Note: Thanks for reading, join Jimmy on Tuesdays for “Brushing My Teeth To Merzbow, airing from 8 to 10 PM (ish.)]

Album Review: Mass For Dead Insects