GILGONGO RECORDS

(click here to return to discography).

MARRIED IN BERDICHEV - 7" (GGGR-019).
released October 2008 limited to 300 copies, hand screened sleeves.

MARRIED IN BERDICHEV.
MARRIED IN BERDICHEV is Brittany Gould, and is a vocal-based sound / noise project that spans the terrain between soft and soothing and jagged and abrasive. Voices and organic sounds are looped and layered over each other, sometimes providing the back bone of a GROUPER or INCA ORE type piece, but at other times, ricocheting into scathing movements that tear through speakers and pierce ear drums, simultaneously beautiful and powerful

This two song 7” is MARRIED IN BERDICHEV’s first release outside of several self-released CDrs and an appearance on the 2008 DEATHBOMB ARC TAPE CLUB (w/ Lucky Dragons, 16 Bitch Pile-Up, Hawnay Troof and more), and features art created by and hand-screened by Brittany herself, and is released alongside an October 2008 European tour with KEVIN SHIELDS.

Brittany is a former member of TRANSISTOR RADIO SOUND and has played a huge role in the Denver collective venue / space RHINOCEROPOLIS and as MARRIED IN BERDICHEV, she has collaborated with other artists such as JANDEK (live), KEVIN SHEILDS (as a duo called CALDERA LAKES), GLOCHIDS (live) and JAMES FELLA (of TENT/CITY, SOFT SHOULDER). She has done various album and poster art for artists such as FRENCH QUARTER and FOOT VILLAGE. MP3: MARRIED IN BIRDICHEV - "Feet In The Water".

select reviews:
Foxy Digitalis:
This is one of those documents you get to review where you are happy you got a free copy. Married in Berdichev is Brittany Gould who has played alongside artists such as Kevin Shields and Jandek. She also plays a major role in Denver's Rhinoceropolis collective and has done album and poster artwork for a variety of groups including Foot Village. This 7" is made up of very fuzzed out vocal drones piled on top of one another and stretched out over each side of the plate. Scattered throughout are ebbs and flows of melody and feedback. Occasionally it is hissing like gentle waves and sometimes it is more like an angry beast. Either way, her intentions for a sense of the organic are executed well. With the song titles "Feet In The Water" and "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" the influence of the natural world is obvious. There is a quaint feeling in the artwork, small 7" vinyl format, limited edition of 300 and the song titles... but the tracks suggest a much more romantic and epic vision. Still, there is enough white hot energy here that if it was longer it might burn out too fast. The vocal drone mixed with noise thing certainly isn't new territory, but Gould presents her own acidic dream quest through the valleys, mountains and forests with a very convincing bit of talent. I would like to hear other releases and how it would hold up on a longer format. It isn't mind-blowing, but will be a delightful repeat listen in the future. 8/10 -- Ryan Emmett

Auxiliary Out:
According to Gilgongo, this 7inch is the first widely available Married in Berdichev release because the project has only previously appeared on self-released CD-rs and as part of the Deathbomb Arc Tape Club.

So fresh off of blowing my mind with that Caldera Lakes full-length, Gould contributes a mighty fine record to announce Married in Berdichev's presence to the world. The A-side, “Feet in the Water”, is a side long dreamer based around layered vocals and a looped thumb piano. I really dig the moderately noisy oscillations that pop up, keeping the track on its toes. There are lyrics but I can’t really make them out. Gould does a great job simultaneously building intensity while keeping the track airy. She also keeps a lot of balls in the air at once, so to speak, which is always an impressive feat to me. The wide variety of sounds here are expertly placed and there’s a nice balance between a few main melodic loops that continue through the entire track and the other more sporadic sounds that show up, burn out/fade away only to have new sounds take their place.

The flipside holds “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening”. While “Feet in the Water” had a lullaby quality to it, this side has a touch of dread. Opening with a round, low organ tone and smoky delayed vocals, the hypnotic but uneasy tone is established quickly and succinctly. Though more minimal than the previous side, there are key sounds, particularly of a percussive nature, that immediately heighten the intensity upon their entry. At a few important points the noisier elements launch a coup, overtaking everything in sight (or earshot). The once clean toned vocals begin surfing on a wave of fuzz, manipulated with various knobs and what-have-you to squelch, sputter and surge. The piece ends memorably with a hi-pitched bit of grainy noise that stutters and lurches, nearly rhythmically, seeming to signal a new movement in the track, but, just like that, it hits the end groove. Even after having listened half a dozen times, it was still catching me off-guard.

The artwork was screened by Gould herself on thick deep navy cardstock with matching LP labels and an insert. This is the archetypal “great 7inch find”: new artist, two magnificent but varied sides, classy packaging, cheap price; it has it all. It’s in-print as of now too, but be warned it’s limited to 300.

Swingset Magazine:
Nice solo femme noise/drone here from Denver’s Brittney Gould, who I believe has some sort of association with Inca Ore. Sounds here are basic layered echoed vox over sparse melodic minimal lines and effects. There’s a middle ground here between the new school Pocahaunted style chants and the noisier/weirder east coast Fursaxa/Zaimph axis kinda thing. Overall it’s a descent listen but doesn’t really add anything to a formula perfected elsewhere. Gould has yet to really find a sound of her own on this release but the blueprint is enough to suggest that this might develop into its own lane down the road. Very nice silkscreen job by the Gilgongo folks.