Nocturnal Emissions remain one of the lesser known bands in the influential industrial scene. Even more obscure is the solo work of Caroline Kaye Walters, aka Caroline K, who co-founded the project in the early eighties. While Nocturnal Emissions indulged in wild mutant disco mutations or field recording grooves, Caroline K’s only solo album, released in 1987, takes its time and fills it with almost nothing: the first half of »Now Wait For Last Year« consists of the track »The Happening World«, which could be described as a haunting ambient hum. A steady pulse, just enough to suggest unease without being forcefully intrusive, remains virtually unchanged for 20 minutes. It’s magnificent.
With »Animal Lattice«, Caroline K moves closer to the tribalistic repetitions of Nocturnal Emissions, adding a touch of melody in the middle section. She approaches the remaining three tracks in a similarly reduced manner, offering distant echoes of minimal wave. You could slap all sorts of labels on it—post-post-industrial would be one—but perhaps it’s best not to be too sure what you’re dealing with when you listen to this music. After listening to it, you may still not be sure. And that’s a good thing. At least until last year.
