Aural Aggravation

Human Worth – 3rd November 2023

Christropher Niasnibor

For all of our astounding advances over the last three millennia, as a species, man is not only a bad animal, but the worst. We have the capacity to achieve truly great things, but instead expend immeasurable amounts of time and effort – and that most ruinous of human constructs, money – on destroying one another and the planet we inhabit. The world is eternally at war, but recently, tensions have escalated to levels which are difficult to comprehend: as the war in Ukraine continues to rage, with almost universal condemnation of Russia, events in the last few weeks in the Middle East have provoked rather different reactions. Division, it seems, begets division, and it seems that the frame has frozen while people bicker over sides, the need to condemn Hamas and to support the mantra that Israel has the right to defend itself.

Perhaps some of this is war-fatigue, perhaps it’s the influence of the media, perhaps some of it’s simply pure shock at the horror of the scale of the bloodshed, but it feels as if the world has paused while all of this plays out with gruesome inevitability. Social media is a minefield, and it feels like any kind of comment could prove inflammatory. But the fact is, political allegiances need to be set aside in the face of the fact that thousands upon thousands of civilians are dying – with women and children disproportionately affected.

The notes which accompany this release set out the situation plainly and directly: there is no need to employ emotive language here, as the stark facts hit far harder.

‘Children in Gaza are living through a nightmare – one that gets more distressing by the hour. So far since the war broke out nearly 4,000 children have been killed – that’s 800 more than yesterday! This horrifying a number surpasses the annual number of children killed in conflict zones since 2019. With a further 1000 children reported missing in Gaza, assumed buried under the rubble, the death toll is likely much higher. All the funds raised through this charity release will be donated to help Save the Children and their network of charities to provide direct lifesaving and mental health support, distribute essential supplies, as well as education facilities and safe spaces for children.’

We know that Human Worth are good guys: the label’s very name is an advertisement for their operating model which involves the donation of a portion of sales proceeds from each release to charity, and they’ve put out a couple of charity compilations already in their relatively brief existence. And while governments sit and watch on, or otherwise give their unreserved backing to Israel, Human Worth have galvanised themselves and their impressive network of artists to pull together a new compilation from which all funds raised will be donated to support Save the Children’s Gaza Emergency Appeal.

This is reason enough to buy it anyway. But this is a stunning release in its own right, featuring twenty-eight tracks from the Human Worth roster and beyond, with a slew of exclusive cuts which make this a quality compilation of music from the noisier end of the spectrum.

It’s got some big hitters, too: Steve Von Till is up first with ‘Indifferent Eyes’ and Enablers are also up early with ‘In McCullin’s Photograph’, and kudos to both the label and the artists for coming together for this.

Sort of supergroup Cower, featuring among others, members of Blacklisters and USA Nails and who released their album BOYS through Human Worth in 2020 offer an exclusive in the shape of the jarring ‘False Flag’, as do Thee Alcoholics with the jolting ‘Catch the Flare’.

Elsewhere, we get representative selections showcasing the best of the label’s recent releases, not least of all ‘Wasted on Purpose’ by Remote Viewing’ and the astringent nine-minute behemoth that is ‘As Shadow Follows Body’ by Torpor from their devastating debut Abscission. Newcastle noisemongers Friend give us eight minutes of carefully-considered transitions and some really quite nice melodies as they build the emerging riff-monster that is ‘Uncle Tommy’. The buzzy, lo-fi gothy synth-punk of The Eurosuite’s exclusive cover of Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘Zero’ is quite a contrast – and sounds like one of Dr Mix and the Remix’s brutal smash-ups – and on the subject of brutal, the sub-two-minute grindcore assault that comes courtesy or FAxFO is utterly furious. HUWWTD’s Late Cormorant Fishing makes for an unexpected standout. Think Shellac with metal vocals and you’re on the way.

Despite the rushed – by necessity – nature off the release, the sequencing shows real consideration as the songs shift between different atmospheres and moods. Human Worth III displays the consistency of quality we’ve come to expect from the label, and the artists’ rapid willingness to contribute speaks volumes about all of them. As a result, Human Worth III is a bloody good album. Go buy it – and pay as much as you can.