The Fate of the Animals
Franz Marc 1913.

A painting said to be prophetic of the First World War, Franz Marc’s The Fate of the Animals is a dynamic expressionist work about the destruction of nature. Marc used jagged forms and bright primary colors to contrast the violent confrontation between technology and the European wilderness. Marc would later die in the Great War in 1916. This is perhaps one of the darkest works from the era and stood as a stark counterpoint to the work of the Italian Futurists who had glorified the violent aspects of progress.

Tenhi . Maaäet . 2006. 5 stars .

Tenhi’s serene, neofolk compositions are so heartbreakingly beautiful, I feel guilty not having heard this record since it came out two years ago. I have been missing out on one of the most superbly executed works not only in the dark, neoclassical genre, but in all underground music scenes together. With strings, acoustic guitars, delicate piano keys and haunting baritone vocals, Tenhi produce one of the deepest musical experiences since Godspeed You Black Emperor redefined progressive music at the beginning of the decade. This album, while still sporting Finnish vocals I can’t decipher, still has universally powerful elements to make it a modern masterpiece.

Everyone of these 12 songs features moments of incredible emotional clarity, whether its in the stirring swells of cello, the gently plucked acoustic guitars or the mysterious chanting vocals hovering in the background, Tenhi color their work with subtle mastery, luring you into different shades of contemplation and release. There are many breathtaking parts to take in, like the glorious piano-driven crescendo of Vähäinen violetissa or the mournful, full-bodied string opening of Kuoppa, where you’ll taken back by the stunning and almost operatic lifts in mood and tension.

While Tenhi’s aesthetics are highly influenced by folk and classical traditions, the level of sophistication and emotionality rivals the greatest post-rock acts, diving into a unique and enveloping atmosphere with the same abandon as early Sigur Ros or Ulver’s highly influential Kveldssanger. It may take several listens to really get to into the album’s twilight atmosphere, but the journey is undoubtedly a rewarding one, as its many details reveal themselves over time. An astonishing work of art, Maaäet should be a milestone for bands of all genres, especially those within neofolk and post-rock circles, to consider.

Tenhi: Sarastuskävijä

Nadja . Desire in Uneasiness . 2008. 3.5 stars .

Yet another LP from Toronto’s prolific drone doom masters. Desire in Uneasiness is a noticeably more organic sounding record with fluid rolling drums cascading against earth-shaking waves of noise. All five songs are long instrumentals that revel in a relaxed, spacey atmosphere, making this an ideal album to simply sit back and vegetate to. The hypnotic drones, driven along by the swirling percussion, are crushingly heavy but also show the duo’s newfound restraint, as they pare back their more chaotic tendencies to produce something more transcendent.

Nadja’s style is certainly progressing, with fuller compositions and more refined production fleshing out a sound that is both powerful and entrancing. While the material on Desire in Uneasiness isn’t as substantial as the unfurling funeral processions of Esoteric or the astral projections of Jesu, it still places Nadja as one of the premier acts of the contemporary doom metal scene. They are certainly making strides in the development of their sound and more creative breakthroughs are on the horizon.

Nadja Live at Lee’s Palace Toronto.

Envy/ Jesu. Split EP. 2008. 4 stars.

This split is a spirited pairing of two art-metal acts that both bend genre conventions to come up with blissful and empowering sounds. Envy, from Japan, play a meticulous form of screamo that utilizes post-rock guitar riffs (a la Mogwai), strings and electronics to give their songs an epic, tragic grandeur. They have three tracks to their name here, including the tour de force of “A WInter Quest for Fantasy”, where chilling, shimmering arpeggios line dark spoken verses (in Japanese) before slowly boiling over to an all-out hardcore assault. This song, complete with layers of subtle synth melodies, sounds lush and expansive, gliding forward with intense, unraveling purpose. The propulsive pacing of “Life Caught in the Rain” keeps up with urgency, as clean math-rock guitar lines stand against swelling strings and violent drumming. This is easily one of the most passionate hardcore tracks I have ever heard, combining well-crafted emotional artistry with fiery release.

Jesu, the latest project of industrial mastermind Justin Broaderick, offers two songs here that sound like outtakes from his 2007 Pale Sketches collection. While the digital beats, shoegaze haze and calm vocals are all very soothing, they don’t retain the same visceral element that made his previous Jesu output so compelling. Both “Hard to Reach” and “The Stars that Hang Above You” are captivating (albeit over-long) but they don’t stand out in the context of a heavier and more substantial catalog. Even still, his contributions here add to the druggy mystique of this entire EP.

So, long story short, this split is highly enjoyable, especially for me since I’ve had no previous exposure to Envy’s work. They have successfully caught my attention here. Both sides of this split offer intriguing snapshots of highly ambitious acts and their sounds compliment each other surprisingly well. Splits may be a rather half-hearted format for bands to pursue, but this one seems to justify the idea.

Theodor Kittelsen: “The Princess Gathering Cotton Grass”
1904.

Peaceful, primordial beauty.

Johann Heinrich Füssli

1802

Northaunt. The Ominous Silence . 2001. 4.5 stars .

Yet another brilliant and obscure record from Norway, Northaunt’s The Ominous Silence features chilling dark-ambient passages complete with sparse piano work and haunting field recordings from nature. Northaunt takes cues from black metal, chamber rock and the avant-garde to create a compelling listening experience that weaves between starkly beautiful melodies and menacing samples, pulling you into the black recesses of the unknown.

The Ominous Silence is exceptional for its painstaking attention to detail, as each drone, gargling vocal and effect is used subtly to create a mysterious soundscape. While the majority of the tracks here run long, they are still driven by underlying melodies so their efforts don’t become too outstretched and abstracted. Such a curious and unsettling work like The Ominous Silence demonstrates the evocative power of dark ambient and calls your attention to the quiet happenings around you. Every drop of rain, gust of wind and thundering storm is part of a wild, puzzling concert and Northaunt act as a medium for it. Powerful, if not often disturbing, material from one of the most underwritten genres.

A Funeral Inside

Darkspace . Darkspace III . 2008. 4 stars .

This album is total insanity. With open wintry keyboards and furious black metal riffs, Darkspace create a crushing atmosphere that swallows everything around it. If you are familiar with Switzerland’s Paysage d’Hiver, you will know what to expect here, as Darkspace features PDH’s Tobias Möckl on guitars and vocals. While PDH was barren, lo-fi and rustic, Darkspace’s sound sports slightly better production and its ragged guitar rhythms are given more room to breathe. The sound created here is cold, grim and bleak but is also feverishly paced, running through torrents of visceral blackness.

Darkspace are less focused on crafting songs as they are on developing a harsh sonic landscape, as all of these tracks run long, eventually becoming monolithic walls of sound. While it is often challenging to have no distinctive compositional elements stick out in the mix, as everything blends together in a sea of darkness, there are still some powerful melodies under the surface to move the episodes along. Every so often a brutal doom metal riff will come chugging along, providing a relentless current to pull you along.

Taken as an immersing experience, Darkspace III is an exceptional black metal record that successfully incorporates ambient elements and chilling keyboard sections to full effect. In terms of disticntive song craft and variety however, causal metal fans may find this to be rather inaccessible. Its their loss still, since albums with such relentless consistency and cohesion are hard to come by.

Grouper . Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill . 2008. 4 stars .

As soon as you get past the disturbing cover art and awkward title, you’ll find that Grouper’s latest album is a stunning gem, with some of the most soothing vocal harmonies you’ll hear this year. Centered on the soft, calming performance of Elizabeth Harris, Grouper’s melodies seem to defy gravity, floating over dark reverb and ambient loops. The vocal tracks are kept distant in the mix, sounding like an ethereal spirit, while gliding drones and gentle acoustic guitars move dreamily along.

While the lyrics remain cryptic under the hazy instrumentation, there is a strong feeling a peace throughout these songs, moving you into a deep and relaxed psychedelic state. The psych-folk aesthetic here is presented with serene clarity that shines through the album’s entirety, making this a unified experience rather than a collection of distinctive songs. Certainly there is a sense of sameness that runs through Dragging a Dead Deer , but its general lack of variety mostly reinforces the pleasant, hypnotic tones being developed here, immersing you in their warm glow. For its delicacy and meditative power, Grouper’s work here stands among 2008’s greatest surprises and will be sure to please fans of post-rock acts like Gregor Samsa and My Bloody Valentine. Recommended.