Black Mold — Snow Blindness Is Crystal Antz

Black Mold is Chad VanGaalen's "alter ego," according to the sticker on the CD wrapping.

Was the marketing guy at Flemish Eye so worried about this instrumental, mostly electronic album sullying VanGaalen's brand that he had to pull a Garth Brooks/Chris Gaines fake out? Maybe the reclusive songwriter is trying to alienate his fans so he can have more time to hang out in his basement. Either way, the alias thing wasn't really necessary.

VanGaalen's fans should find, amid the circuit-bending weirdness, that this still sounds like a CVG album.

VanGaalen has shown a knack for expressing nightmares and death fantasies on his more "conventional" records in ways that evoke feelings of love or nostalgia more than depression or fear. Even without lyrics, you can still taste that signature bittersweetness in the buzzing digital bass and singing square waves on Snow Blindness Is Crystal Antz.

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