As if Jim O’Rourke’s oeuvre wasn’t daunting and complex enough already, here are eight albums the Tokyo-via-Chicago noise maven dropped surreptitiously and simultaneously on Bandcamp this week. Titled Steamroom 1-8, the series is comprised of either material that was previously unreleased or saw very limited initial release, and is now available for free streaming or a $7 download. Obviously I haven’t listened to it all yet, but I can say Steamroom 1 (“Recorded 2012. Originally released as a tour cd for the Christoph Heemann / Will Long / Jim O’Rourke 2013 Japan Tour.”) is a very nice in a quietly droning way thus far. Steamroom 5 is a mixed piece for strings and live electronics; that’s the one I’m checking out next.
