With his latest single, Gethsemane, the Ambient Avant-Gardist Matt John Henderson nestled into the niche of sonic expressionists with the ability to render catharsis into your rhythmic pulses while intellectually stimulating your mind.
The cinematically quiescent piece uses organic textures and tones to imbue the production in folksy seraphic warmth; his equally as honeyed and honed hushed vocal tones effortlessly complement the minimalist yet intricately eloquent instrumental stylings which pair jazz nuances with artfully delicate motifs that wouldn’t be out of place in Thom Yorke’s remit.
As a precursor to the critically acclaimed artist’s eagerly anticipated album, Lapse in Stillness, Gethsemane is an introspectively entrancing teaser of the serenity which is set to soon follow. The artist’s ability to invite his audience to lose themselves and live between the layers of his sound is second to none; it’s only a matter of time before his name becomes a staple on every editorial ambient playlist on Spotify.
Gethsemane was officially released on November 1st; stream the single on Spotify now.
Taken from the ambiently spiritual world music album, By Voicelight, the standout single, See No See, Know No Know, from the disarmingly compelling California-hailing artist Sound Animal will awaken senses you never knew you had.
With elements of dreamy synth-pop synthesised around the scintillating Eastern tones that nuancedly appear around Sound Animal’s harbingeringly celestial vocal timbre, the soundscape can comfort the disturbed as much as it can disturb the comfortable. The Clannad-Esque yearning vocal lines atop the rich instrumental tapestry that breaks the monocultural mould are nothing but unforgettable.
Stuttgart, Germany-residing folk artist Marlais takes inspiration from the deep roots of English and Irish folk for his quiescently beguiling aural tales that transcend the commercialisation of Folk to outpour intimately uninhibited emotion.
His latest hymnal single, Out of the Window, is an arresting invitation to lose yourself in the narrative, which unfolds to the minimalist folk instruments and harmonically ethereal electronic motifs. It’s gospel for the impious, a triumph in connectivity through the ambient relay of sincere emotion that carries as much through the vulnerable vocal timbre as it does through the celestially sombre instrumentation.
Out of the Window, taken from his forthcoming LP, Stream of Forms, is now available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.
Under the influence of Cohen, Waits and Dylan, Southampton-hailing artist, P.B Ruck, released their sonorously powerful latest single ‘Some Love’; the sense of romanticism is just as old school as the sepia-stained tones in the meditative Americana folk soundscape.
Through spatial effect and lyrical sparsity, Some Love is just as much about your introspection and amorous nostalgia as it is about the artist’s. With a touch of modernity on the production, folk roots are firmly implanted in the mix, but it blossoms through the tender vocals which resonate with a nuanced touch of celestially choral mesmerism.
Some Love was released on December 28th, it is available to stream via YouTube.
Italian Dark Psych Folk artist Nero Kane released their sophomore album, ‘Tales of Faith and Lunacy’, on October 30th, following on from the plaintively arid psychedelia in their debut album ‘Love in a Dying World’.
After tracks from their debut album quickly fell into my ‘on repeat’ playlist on Spotify, there was no preparing me for how dark this album was going to be. The droning walls of noise leave you utterly paralysed by the intensity of the emotion. It’s so much more than just senseless nihilism, it’s a series of reflective admissions made regrettably, but sincerely all the same.
Despite melancholy being a recurring theme, the expansive release offers a myriad of introspective wormholes to slip into. Each track will surprise you more than the last. For anyone that believes that albums are outdated formats, Tales of Faith and Lunacy will prove you wrong. It tears you from the 21st century and invites you to explore a gothic American western landscape constructed by hypnotic minor-key psych-folk infusions with the ability to subjugate your entire consciousness. The space left between the notes in the looped riffs allow your fear, disenchantment and isolation to coalesce with the soundscape.
Lord Won’t Come sets such a devastating tone for the album. The title becomes a mantra as it confirms your fears; there is no salvation which follows the traversing of our seemingly-condemned quite literally scorched earth. Bauhaus and Nick Cave reminiscences are easy to conjure, but Nero Kane has an authentically unique ability to console you, even when he’s telling you that your soul is damned.
Track 2, Mechtild, where you can truly start to appreciate Nero Kane for his inclination to look outside of music for inspiration. Mechtild was inspired by the life of a Christian medieval mystic, the drawn-out notes resonate like celestially meditative whispers implanted by a lover, chilling but passionate all the same.
There isn’t a skippable track on the album but Track 4, Magdalene, offers an unparalleled level of dizzying entrancement as it sonically effervesces. It is the epitome of psychedelia; it almost makes you question your ability to cognitively function as it consumes you. Atop of the viscerally ensnaring kaleidoscopic tones, you’ll find Samantha Stella Stella’s sermonic vocals which will leave you floored by their gracefully convictive command.
The release poignantly paints a picture of how lunacy has the potential to be in everything we do and everything we feel, from the following of faith to battling self-inflicted psychological destitution. But perhaps more imperatively, the album highlights the danger of going into yourself, only to find madness. After what we have all been through in 2020, Tales of Faith and Lunacy unravels as the cultural sanctity we’ve all been crying out for.
Tales of Faith and Lunacy is due for release on October 30th via Nasoni Records.
Grab a vinyl LP (Black or Crystal Clear), CD Digipack, limited edition cassette or digital copy via Bandcamp.
