Recorded earlier in 2007 in Michigan 'The Empty Quarter' is the latest chapter in the ever growing (and ever changing) Hair Police story. This is a band I am well and truly smitten with, after hearing their truly seminal 'Constantly Terrified' album I was a convert and went looking for anything and everything the band had put their name to (which is a lot, trust me) and they rarely disappoint. Each limited slab of wax has positioned them somewhere a little different and the bar is raised again just that little bit highter, and 'The Empty Quarter' is exactly what I needed to hear from them. Beginning with the kind of teeth-clenchingly eerie noise-ambience that made 'Drawn Dread' an album to wet yourself to, we are pretty soon greeted with a crashing tidal wave of distorted white noise which washes over the track and drowns any unbelievers. Within minutes we are catapulted into the degraded and crackling sound of a half-working circuit bent piece of oscillation equipment and the screams of a band perfectly at ease with the kind of wraiths they unleash when they play. It's hardly surprising that Mike Connelly of the band is also the newest member of Wolf Eyes (replacing Aaron Dilloway in 2005) - the two bands have much in common, including a quality which sets them head and shoulders above so many other acts in the genre. This is visceral, blood and sweat drenched noise music and it's totally unmissable stuff - another flawless record from one of the best in the scene. Huge recommendation.