Black Noise is exploratory from gun to tape, abstract in its use of soundscape to communicate Quinton Barnes’ experience of alienation. Barnes sought inspiration from the critical framework of Afropessimism and its ontological exploration of the spectacle of Black death. Chaos reigns as if we are amidst nuclear outbreak or chemical warfare as Barnes opts to transmit a frenzy of drone-like noise appearing as a warning sign. “Just as I imagined, just as I pictured it,” Barnes says, becoming an integral refrain throughout Black Noise. The album is eerie and harsh in its embryonic stages before bursting into an avant-garde, jazz-like delirium awash with feverish freeform electric guitar strums.
A fearlessness in operating in obscurity is Black Noise, demonstrated in its abstract nature. ‘Art of Survival’ brings forth a mass of overwhelming sounds before dulling into inaudible speech that is both numbing and ominous, in amongst defiant lyricism. ‘Black Orpheus’ bares mystical unease, dominated by streaky violin chords intriguingly met with rhythmic drum patterns that create fanatical theatre. Threatening flute and drone sounds intertwine with frantic lyricism to emanate a darkness that perpetually pervades.
Barnes indulges in differing sounds throughout Black Noise, notably on ‘Sober for the Weekend’, a punk-rock infused track. Its essence feels rebellious, at least in the drum patterns, though the shrieking violin strikes return, totally subsuming the track whilst Barnes’ ponders on the futility of this fight. A seismic shift in tone occurs in its close that serves as a prelude to the final two tracks, in a way which the listener may perhaps not expect.
‘Quiet Noise’ and, for the most part, ‘Movement 7’, too, both seek ambience and elegance in ways far more melodic than the previous quintet of songs, offering the listener reprieve. “I guess I just let it be,” Barnes exhales amongst a transformed soundscape, as if to suggest a pessimistic acceptance, though not without an indication of reluctance, if thought in the context of Afropessimism. The ambiguity with regard to whether Barnes’ is musing about a particular person or mourning his own self contributes Barnes’ prismatic exploration of human existence throughout Black Noise.
Black Noise befittingly culminates somewhere in-between nihilism, joy and hope, with despair again pointing towards a reluctant acceptance. The piano chords are solemn yet reassuring as Barnes signals the closure of the grand curtains of Black Noise in ‘Movement 7’ whilst lyrically the artist both yearns and speaks with dignity. However, lurking in the distance is a barren dial-like tone that increases in pitch and tempo jarring the ears of the listener, eliminating any possibility of resolution.
