Esmerine - Aurora

Esmerine . Aurora . 2005. 4 stars .

Esmerine is one of the lesser known projects to come out from the Godspeed/Silver Mt. Zion umbrella, playing sorrowful instrumentals centered around Becky Foon’s cello. She is joined by multi-instrumentalist Bruce Cawdron, whose graceful piano melodies and unusual percussion work gives their collaboration an experimental edge.

If you are familiar with Godspeed You Black Emperor or any of their many side projects, you’ll appreciate Esmerine’s subdued but cinematic flavor, opting out of lyrics and familiar song structures to play heartbreaking requiems that occasionally weave into unexpected places. Aurora, the duo’s second outing, features both brooding epics (the 16 minute "Histories Repeating as One Thousand Hearts Mend") and succinct recitals (like the remarkable "Why She Swallows Bullets and Stones").

While the music takes a generally somnambulist tone, its beauty is undeniable, as each swooning moan of the cello aches with sensitivity. The amount of emotion being poured into these movements, no matter how slowly it reveals itself, is certainly humbling. The album’s more moody and disturbing moments have enormous gravity to them, casting down an atmosphere of tension and despair rivaling the most expressionistic horror films. Its delicate parts also have a lyrical weight, displaying Esmerine’s subtle sense of melody and pacing. Sure, some of the sparser portions of this disc are rather abstract, perhaps a little too slow moving as well, but its overall impression is a lasting one. Fans of post-rock are sure to be pleased by this, even with the complete absence of guitars and regular drumming, as its dark compositions are full of intense drama. A criminally overlooked band and album.

“Why She Swallows Bullets and Stones”

Digg!

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 20th, 2008 at 7:38 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.