Opening up Merzbow's new 13-disc series of monthly releases themed around Japanese birds, Suzume gets underway with even more of a bang than the usual Merzbow fare, combining those familiar, expertly wrought noise emissions with wild, flailing drums. The first track, 'Red Bird Of Summer Part 1' lasts some twenty minutes, dishing out aural punishment at every conceivable frequency. After a while it becomes apparent that for better or worse, the drumming somehow detracts from the intensity of the complex and agile distorted signals - there's something about the (possibly electronic) kit sounds that doesn't quite measure up against the ferocity of Merzbow's usual box of tricks. 'Fandango In Space' is a more tranquil experience altogether, bringing a steady lavaflow of heated up electric tones into the foreground, ditching the percussion momentarily. Next comes 'Ton Uta', another barrage of beats and tweeting oscillators - the kick sounds are starting to melt into the rest of the overdriven bottom end by this point, making for a more satisfying melding of instruments. At this point those drums are starting to make a lot more sense. Further bass frequency unpleasantness arises from the quite wonderful closing piece 'Red Bird Of Summer Part 2', which rounds the album off with all the gleeful menace you'd want to hear from the mixing desk of Masami Akita.