V/A – Doom Mix Vol. III

2.22.19 by Ryan Masteller

Look, I don’t get hyped for mixtapes, which is weird because I also write for a different site with “Mix Tapes” in the name, and I won’t get into the size of those “Mix Tapes” right now (not very big), but that’s not the point. The point is, although I don’t get hyped for mixtapes, I get hyped for the annual Doom Trip compilation, even though it’s less a label retrospective than a “tape that one might make for a friend,” which takes us into pure paradoxville if you ask me (and you did), because even with this information at your disposal, you still don’t know where the heck I’m coming from.

“Doom Mix Vol. III.” That’s where I’m coming from.

Not without reason, my hype meter whanged all the way to 10 (on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being “Barely Conscious,” 10 being “Mega Hype – Grab Handrails”) when I first perused this thing, the needle breaking free of its moorings and flying at dangerous speed toward the other end of the lab, while ejected springs and sprockets ensured I’d be spending the rest of the afternoon trying to put everything back together before listening to another cassette and measuring its hype. This was before I even hit Play on “disco” Eartheater, a track recorded SPECIFICALLY for this release. Alexandra Drewchin is INSANELY generous.

But if you’re like, “Whoa, Eartheater!,” my response is, “Yeah, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg – wait’ll the rest of that iceberg rips into the side of your ‘Titanic’ taste in music and sinks the hell out of everything you thought you knew about anything,” which is kind of a jackass thing to reply, but it sounded OK in my head. But still, Swan Meat’s gonna gouge a hole in somebody’s hull, right? Nmesh is gonna blast through metal, yeah? And how about Mukqs? Electro-psychedelia like a wrecking ball to the front of a seagoing ocean liner. Couldn’t pin that dude down if you tried.

And what about HOTT MT? Vinyl Williams? Pale Spring? R23X? Swinging the pendulum of the somehow now-metaphorically-prevalent wrecking ball into that sweet melodic zone and smashing through your personal barriers, the walls that keep your feelings hidden from everyone. Not harsh smashing but cathartic smashing, falling in love smashing, dystopian dreamworld smashing, smashing reality in favor of make believe.

Gosh, “Doom Mix Vol. III” has everything. [*Checks tracklist. Panics*] I’m only halfway done!

The flipside features a bunch of Doom Trip alums (most of ’em are a bunch of weirdos too): Diamondstein & Sangam, Niku No Sekai, Heejin Jang, and Skyjelly (that fuzztone!) make appearances, as does TALsounds (last seen around these parts on “Doom Mix Vol. I”), which sort of makes this a Good Willsmith/Hausu Mountain party too, I guess? Heck, invite ’em all! But some of the best entries are from the Doom Trip n00bs, with Tim Thorton as CDX bouncing his own samplemania around your speakers, Equip slinging some psycho vapor madness, and Paige Emery dreamweaving clouds of cotton candy.

Pant, pant, pant … whew.

To say this is the best “Doom Mix” shortchanges the other “Doom Mixes,” so here’s my advice: combine all three into a gigantic whole. You’ll never get tired of it, and it’ll probably never end. See? I’m also good for public service. You’re welcome.

You can stream a few of these tracks already, but you have to wait till April freaking 9th for the whole thing to drop on your head like Santa’s bag of presents eight months early or that wrecking ball of gentleness or whatever I was talking about up there. Go with Christmas. Christmas in April.

Preorder or else.