[Music] Destruktionsanstalt – Swedenborg

Though it must amuse my confessors to no end, I grew up enjoying the bleakest of sounds in early Industrial music and the black ambient music which followed about a decade or so later. The best of the lot seem to be growing out of the calm climes of Scandinavia, and the best of that lot is coming, these days, from Denmark. Per Najbjerg Odderskov, known by aliases like Destruktionsanstalt, Liller_Per, God Cancer, Left Hand Of God, Lidane Livering, and The G.R Orchestra, has a long, storied history in the saga of black ambient music.

As Destruktionsanstalt, Per graces us with one of the most beautifully bleak compositions I’ve heard in quite some time. In a scene where children think they’re being cute by inverting a cross (sorry, St. Andrew beat you to that one) and turning on a vacuum cleaner, and then having the nerve to try to sell this to an unsuspecting sucker, it is good to hear a master craftsman carve the equivalent of a Caravaggio out of pure black matter.

Going through the tracks, one can feel a lot of heavy vibes, deep emotion, and perhaps despair. This isn’t meant to make the CD sound like a gruesome experience, however – far from it, in fact. There’s a beauty even in the darkest of music, as the act of composition itself is a life-bringing experience. The packaging for this CD is also quite exquisite, done more to look like a book or a piece of art rather than a mere jewel-case.

For connoisseurs of black ambient, it’s quite an honor to present to you a crowning jewel for your collection.

[Music] Twilight Fields – Further Up, Further In!

Never, ever allow anyone to tell you that there is no good music being made today. Ever!

Twilight Fields is a band out of Northern Canada, but you wouldn’t know it judging by the influences they’ve sponged up into their body of work. One can easily hear touches of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, the acid folk of The Incredible String Band, and more modern psychedelic fare from groups like Spacemen 3 and Spectrum.

The crisp recording adds to the pleasure of hearing this recording on a great set of headphones. A highly recommended release.

[Music] Disemballerina – Poison Gown

Poison Gown‘ is a release which came to me via my inbox, and I find it to be a wonderful stroke of luck that Myles Donovan and his bandmates in Disemballerina decided to ask me for a review.

The release sets itself quite favorable with bands who do this type of gothic/classical hybrid. The tracks tend to be dark but delicate, and, should the band decide to aim their focus in this direction, they could produce a perfect soundtrack to any Tim Burton movie.

[Music] THE POST​-​DECADENT SINGERS by THE POST-DECADENT SINGERS

I don’t know what is going on in France that is drawing in such amazing talent from outside her borders (it’s probably the incredibly good quality of local performers who are developing massive catalogs and worldwide respect for their bodies of work), but the country is seeing a small explosion of creativity. One case-in-point is the Mexican guitarist Hector Javier Ayala. He has begun releasing some incredible CDs recently (his newest will be reviewed here soon, but this particular album was done in collaboration with drummer Cedric Lemaire. The recordings are sparse, but gel together quite nicely. A lot of the material reminded be of Derek Bailey and is free improvisations with percussionists around the world.