These pieces are meant for immersive listening rather than dancing; Saggar calls them prayers, tying their purpose into the meaning of "bhajan", the Sanskrit term for a devotional song. More spiritual practice than entertainment, it’s only right that the album is listened to and judged as such.
reviews
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...an album that sees the light after thirty years and not before time, Kenny perhaps at the peak of his later and smoother era, playing with friends and concocting a session that is well remembered by all those involved.
Everything about this nineteen-minute selection is indeed just a joy — from the neat inviting 10” vinyl presentation right down to the deep hooks embedded in its actual grooves.
...like other ‘noise’ rock bands but also strangely unlike most of them in that, even at this early stage, it felt like every note was deliberate. If it sounded like an unGodly accident then that was exactly how it was supposed to sound. These freaks could play; there might even be some kind of score.
Whilst the somewhat murky mix and generally unhurried pacing dissuade instant gratification, the slow burn approach of Eternity Bores Me will reward those already in thrall to the consistently reliable micro-scene from which it comfortingly emanates.
From the very first shot, the director / cinematographer wreaks destruction upon the sanctity of the family unit, even affronting his own characteristic practice of telling his stories through a series of almost still images held slightly too long to be comfortable for the viewer. Pálmason trusts our natural curiosity and filmgoing experience to help us look for the telling detail in his squared-off frames.
The people on the bill tonight feel like threads from the same dark bass wagon; they don’t necessarily sound alike (although they share a sympathy for low tones and steel beats) but they feel like they are parts of a wider subliminal zeitgeist.
It is this evocation of distance and stretching of time that Sol.Hz manages so well, pushing us out of a recognisable orbit; yet it engages and moves in equal measure.
We definitely aren’t able to successfully sound like anyone else -- it would be nice if people saw us as our own thing that transcended some of the things we borrow from elsewhere. I think live we have our own thing -- whether or not we can capture that on record at some point remains to be seen. Double live album time!
As on 2023's Weejuns, six tracks are collated, but here things are a little more succinct although wildly diverse in approach and once again the three draw elusive patterns from one another.
...in summary: banging festival. I don't want to miss out on the important social stuff -- it was really heartening to see so many people as much interested in chatting to distant (and often online) pals as they were watching music. Largely the acts were new names on me (no surprise -- I don't follow this scene much) and all of them deserving of the larger stage.
It is a really human sound that they produce and an explosion of voices just adds to the joy. The flute is ragged and out of breath, as if being chased and is wildly skipping and scattering. The sax is more predatory, consuming the flute and turning the atmosphere; while the ascending organ and battering drums give an almost physical sense of being lifted.
It is cosmic and dusty, like a long road across a desert. It is windblown music, or rather music than rides into the storm until, disorientated and windblown, you find yourself in the eye. It feels like big country music.
...a pure delight and so wide-ranging, with Martin’s ability at arranging as well as writing for choir and group proven to be a natural progression; but with such adept musical assistance as given by the group, it fits like a hand in a glove.
I might be the only person that thinks the self-titled Smiths album is better than Hatful Of Hollow. I love that first LP.
...feels less like a moralising history lesson and more like a pained cry of remorse, whose cinematic language has the steely nerve to ask the hard questions and refuse to answer them for you.
...this recent 4AD culmination of their four Peel Sessions gives you an excellent band primer. The first four tracks airing months before their debut LP Fetisch was even released, barbed and gritty statements that thistle with a refreshing ferocity that guaranteed plenty of further investigation.
...scenes of desolate forest, urban strip malls, industrial zones, police brutality, stock market tickers and images of technical blueprints