Positive Adjustments – The Molalla Tapes CDr

Murderabalia

Here’s a release that was limited to 40 copies and is based on the true crime case of “the Molalla Forest Killer” Dayton Leroy Rogers, something of which I know little about. The disc is stock full of noise and sickened power electronics with a running time of close to an hour.

My first reaction to this lo-fi noise blast is that the production is rather poor with a lot of tinny high-end noise. As the album unfolds however there are moments that peek out through the grit that show a huge potential for the artist. Some odd sound design moments in Amusement add a unique flavor to the track but the true payoff is in the excellently composed Lust that simply flows in some of the most simultaneously beautiful and terrible ways.

There’s a lot of high white noise which I would trade for crunch any day here, but every once in a while Postitive Adjustments whips out some great rhythmic synth chugs which brings things together and actually offers a little bit of meat on the bones to digest.

The funny thing about Positive Adjustments is that they seem to excel in the slower and more industrial end of the spectrum rather than the blistering harsh noise that is the bulk of the tracks on The Molalla Tapes which is contrary to most artists strengths and weaknesses. Tracks like the aforementioned Lust, Disgust, and Sado Frequency are the strongest efforts here and stand far above any of the all-out harsher tracks that are offered perhaps with the exception of the closing track You Deserve which is a solid showing of chugging power electronics.

Overall The Molalla Tapes is quite an expansive presentation of sound from this relatively unknown project. The bulk of the album suffers from a thin, tin-like quality of sound but there are a few really stand out tracks that show a lot of potential for Positive Adjustments.

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