Brooklyn's Slasher Risk have been rewiring the sounds of guitar-based rock since late 2006, issuing a stream of cassettes and CD-Rs. Working with the ethic of bands like Fushitsusha or the Dead C, Slasher Risk combines noise and rock to create scorched-earth improvisations. The duo reveal a more sedate and pensive side with the release of "Chillers" on the solid Baked Tapes, stretching out their sound in an unhurried and blurry way.

Recorded live at the Knitting Factory in NYC at Pendu Sound's NY Eye and Ear II Festival, the adrenaline-drenched murk of past Slasher Risk efforts like "Shoe Mania" is here transformed into a drifting electronic fire. Clouds of reverb and delay mutate drum hits into thunderous walls of dark-hued textures, while tape hiss and microphone distortion crackle and undulate together with spidery guitar work to create a slow yet turbulent sense of motion.

"Chillers" is long, and does have moments where its momentum flags, but the band skillfully works itself out of any dead-end passages before they overstay their welcome. The length and ambition of the piece outweigh any shortcomings--they just turn their amps on and go and go while managing to keep things interesting throughout. Influences of early Sonic Youth stand next to moments that recall Sightings, but Slasher Risk is ultimately its own beast. Even when they slow it down, they still burn. 8/10 -- Mike Griffin (7 April, 2010)