Earth "The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull" (2008)

With the pandemic slowing the pace of new music by the artists I follow, I've noticed the freed time has had me picking out forgotten treasures. It is much fun to revisit old favorites and after blowing the dust of Hibernaculum we get to revive the one about the bees and the lion! I never got deep into this one upon release and the reason is swiftly apparent - Its all to similar. Earth's slow, drudging pace and methodical unraveling of suspended, elongated chords and melodies brews a warm atmosphere. Once familiar with the niche, it dissipates too a mood, one to be conjured but hardly encapsulated by.

With its axis a little more woven into the softly distorted guitars, texture and aesthetic ooze from the speakers as its melodies clime to unleash brooding chords that ring out in slow motion. In its simplicity, amalgamating layers of ambiguous hazy noise gush forth from its crashing power. Heard best in its opening songs, the charm wears off as future songs pivot more so to the piano as the lead instrument and in this relegates itself to a less imbued form.

Rise To Glory introduces a remarkably hazy guitar solo that ebbs and flows in its shoe-gazing presence, sluggish and reflexive, its grasp on tension and human expression is suddenly cut short as a sudden pivot ushers in the pianos phase. Hung From The Moon goes there again with the piano but its not quite the same. This additional layer, free from the grinding pace yet flowing with a complimenting looseness is wonderful, a stand out element that doesn't get much time to flourish. With this they had something but without, its all to similar and the record tends to drift to the background, where it sets a fine and soothing mood of calmness and ease. A good record but its clear now why it didn't stick with me back then.

Rating: 6/10

Earth "Hibernaculum" (2007)

 

Here lies a blast from the past, one of my first steps into the worlds of Drone and Doom. Earth are known as pioneers in the field and Hibernaculum comes in the second leg of the duo's carrier after reformation a few years prior. To me this four track EP was a hypnotic exercise in simplicity and repetition that pushed its gradual shifts in tone and texture as the progressive archetype. Its entrancing mood was one I'd enjoy on many long walks home in the dark, I couldn't however convince my friends of its magic but with it passing my mind again recently, I have revived its wonder to my playlist to share with all of you through this music blog.

With the aged ears acquired since, I hear the likes of Noir Jazz as a distant cousin to this breezy, soft and natural record. Steeped in a neutral tone it feels rather adaptable to either the city night or natural beauty in the light of day. Its first three songs deliver gorgeous metallic acoustic guitar melodies. Drawn out at a snails pace its repetitious ideas are underpinned by chilling piano notes and the bellowing dense blanket of bass. Slow and methodical its incremental growth blossoms so slowly its like watching a face age day by day yet in the calming spell of its manor, an intensity manifests with its lurching distortion and subtle organs chiming in on the craft.

Its final song, clocking in at over sixteen minutes takes the temporal to its conclusion. The soft percussion performance of Adrienne Davies is drawn to a crawl as the textures of her cymbal strikes cry out in the void between lingering notes from a darkly guitar. A Plague Of Angels plunges into the chill of night where its counterparts exerted a sense of natural beauty, this one slides into the shadows, devoid of light yet still having this calming persuasion. Being able to hold the listener in its grasps, the gradual rise of blunt over-driven chords takes us into dramatic spaces as it grows bolder. It could be excellence in action, or possibly the countless hours of bonding that made it so vivid to me.

I've written on Earth's more recent Primitive And Deadly, back when I first started this blog. Its a different beast, more metallic and doomly with charming vocals and all. That was one of my personal favorites from 2014. This fun revival of an old gem has made me realize how little of their discography I have uncovered, perhaps one to dive into now! Hibernaculum is a fine record, solemnly neutral with a slight chill in its backbone, the temporal pace and sluggish unraveling is a power of its own! One to always return to from time to time.

Rating: 8/10

Manet "Dark Side Of The Valley" (2016)

With my late night rabbit hole browsing of the Internet Ive stumbled into another Doom Jazz artist! Perfect, I was looking for more after being introduced to the genre via Bohren & Der Club Of Gore. Manet is a one man band project from Norway, this being the fifth of sixth releases and on my initial listen I felt the same crime riddled city blues of moonlit streets, smokey alleyways and shady dealings that I have so far identified as the Doom Jazz vibe. With each passing listen the experience grew and although this record has a similar tone, aesthetic and pace, its ambience and vibe didn't journey to the same city, or any place at all for the matter. Although soft yearning pianos and a suspect VST trombone murmur in similar shadows, it doesn't feel as Jazz like as one might expect.

With a template of deathly slow pacing, quite, unmoving drums and slow, cautious instruments one would suspect there isn't a lot of depth to the genre, that's a dangerous assumption. Despite a composition and tonal similarity none of these songs spark that rich atmosphere my previous encounter had done. "No Rest For The Dead" may stir some emotions with its elevated lead piano but mostly the record just passes by, only managing to stir so mediocre atmosphere and soft ambience. The record finds a strong moment with "Movember Pain", a reference to mustache growing? The soft groaning of distant whirling synths over its backdrop strings gave me goosebumps!

I believe this records shortcomings is in what is most likely a digitally composed piece with VSTs and the like. Because everything is tentatively slow, soft and quiet, hearing the distinctions of an electronic instrument isn't so obvious. Listening back to Sunset Mission again in comparison It becomes very vivid how much life and character each musician breathes into their soft and subtle playing. Manet also misses a very expressive saxophone or trombone like instrument that can act as a voice for expression amidst the slow smokey atmospheres. Its a reasonable effort but obviously amateurish in counterpart to a professional Jazz outfit.

Favorite Tracks: Movember Pain, Obscured Visions

Rating: 5/10

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore "Sunset Mission" (2000)

 If ever there has a case of instant appeal, then Bohren and his "Club Of Gore" are a prime example of a sound Ive been waiting to hear, as soon as it graced my ears it all made sense. Known as Doom Jazz or Noir Jazz, a far more suitable name in my opinion, the sophisticated atmosphere of Jazz is taken to the dark side with a seductive persuasion that lures you in with its passive presence, soothing, gentle yet drenched in night time blues. The band are a four piece group from Germany who have been active since the early 90s and "Sunset Mission" is their third full length.

The setting for the groups music is quite simple, soft choral synths lightly grace the backdrop as deep baselines plod and blunder in the distance, the slow ride cymbal sets a crawling pace as it softly strikes and shimmers the tempo into existence. Variations of these set the atmospheres on each track for the saxophone, organ and rhodes keys to lead us through a tangent with their dark and brooding leads. It warms to the eerie and mystical but is rooted in an urban environment. Danger is always near, as if you walk the smokey alleyways of a crime smothered city where the sun never shines, a murder detective, who in a search for justice is burdened by the weight of the horrors they see. Its the soundtrack to a romanticized crime novel of dirty streets, shady criminals and alcohol addiction.

The record stretches on for 73 minutes and is more about atmosphere and tone than making an impact with any particular moment. On "Pain-Less Street Angels" there is a fiery level of emotion from the sax but asides from one standout moment much of this records charm resides in its ability to hold the mood without any visible intensity. There's a fair few peaks and distortions felt in the mix, nothing much to bother but its far from a remarkable production. It does enough to let the music do what it does so well.

Rating: 7/10