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When talking about contemporary Indonesian music, experimenting with harsh noise might not be the first thing that comes to mind. 

But drifting in an ever-expanding sea of saccharine pop are artists whose music offers more than just a few greeting-card lines atop melodramatic melodies. Some of these alternative artists’ works have been compiled for “Subkultur” (“Subculture”), a record released by fledging independent label StoneAge Records. 

The album features some of the country’s most ear-splitting musicians, and it works wonderfully as a collection of forward-thinking music. However, “Subkultur” is weighed down by a lack of variety and is far too short. There is something great here for fans of avant-garde music, just not enough. 

Previously, StoneAge was primarily an Internet-based label, offering only digital albums. “Subkultur” is the label’s first physical record release. 

The eight-track album opens with “Tundra,” a brutally abstract tune by Jakarta-based act Bertanduk (roughly translated as With Horns). The song’s reverb-drenched growls and noisy feedback is reminiscent of the harsher side of the Japanese genre “noise” — affectionately known as “Japanoise” – particularly its most popular bands, Merzbow and Massona. 

For those unfamiliar with the “noise” genre, “Tundra” will sound like nothing more than hearing a recording of an old truck heating up through a cheap amplifier. But as a prologue to “Subkultur,” its hostile ambience works as a fulfilling preface.

The second track, “Rusuh” (“Tumultuous”), is the result of a mash-up between Bandung band Terapi Urine (Urine Therapy), with its electronic grind-core sound, and the garage-metal stylings of Jakarta’s Serigala Jahanam (roughly translated as Bastard Wolf). Unfortunately, “Rusuh” doesn’t benefit from the dual effort and sounds like a muddy remix of a rock track that didn’t really need the remix in the first place. 

Things start to take off with Jakarta duo Aneka Digital Safari’s “Hassasin,” a darkly danceable instrumental decorated with digital glitches and raucous beats. Ultimately sounding like a harsh remix of old Nintendo video game music, “Hassasin” is one of the most “conventional” sounding songs on the compilation, threading a fine line between friendly and brutal nuances.

The same can’t be said of Depriver’s “Can’t Think Straight,” a 10-minute exploration of improvisational drums, droning low-end noise and guitar squeals. Sounding like a free jazz session gone horribly awry, the track’s spontaneous routine works better as a concept than in its actual half-hearted execution.

There’s something particularly striking about the frenzied nature of “Can’t Think Straight,” but its experimentation seems lacking in any kind of focus. 

Distraction of Brain’s “Mukadimah” essentially travels the same road as “Can’t Think Straight,” but it distinguishes itself by being more annoying. The track sounds like the practice session of a classic rock-inspired band heard through a beat-up boom box. The track is also brought down by what sounds like a new drummer still in the very early stages of learning the instrument. 

It’s harsh, but not in a hard-core good way. “Mukadimah,” almost seven minutes in duration, sees Distraction of Brain going through a medley of Black Sabbath-inspired riffing that quickly dissolves into a blob of aggravating noise. 

But relief comes from Yogyakarta duo Asangata’s glitch-y electronic track “Blind Forest.” The band opts for a more trance-inducing approach to the track. “Blind Forest” has an aquatic quality about it, and it builds itself with a repetitive dynamic that gives it a hypnotic feel, making it one of the best tracks on the record. 

Sangsaka Worship’s “Russian Buddhist and Chinese Muslim” takes the compilation back to the “harsh noise” sound, but it doesn’t have much going for it except for its catchy title. 

The track’s droning quality — essentially the same note played for four-minutes plus — has a kind of soothing quality, especially during the barely-audible acoustic guitar plucking toward its end. But it lacks any punch that would make it more than mere aural wallpaper. Then again, that is most likely what Sangsaka Worship was going for.

The record ends on a high note with Duck Dive’s “A Flashback in Curved Space.” The track sounds like the exciting remix of a death metal song, going from morose-sounding doom to brutal rock in mere minutes. 

While “Subkultur” is a much-welcomed addition to the country’s music scene, it feels too much like a narrow representation of Indonesia’s experimental genre. It is far too short, and in many cases the gaps of quality between the stronger and weaker tracks are too wide for the compilation to give a sense of enjoyable continuity. 

Still, for a mere Rp.20,000 ($2), the record is a good deal and succeeds in injecting some healthy variety into a stale music scene.

‘Subkultur’  
Various artists StoneAge Records 
Price: Rp 20,000  
Purchasing info: http://www.stoneagerecords.co.cc/