Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Classically-Influenced Experimental Noise-Drone Folk


Noise is too crude a term for Charalambides latest album, Electricity Ghost, I'm sure. But what else can I call it? Psych-folk? Doesn't touch it. Experimental noise? Redundant. Classical noise? Paradoxical. If you've ever heard Charalambides before, particularly their 2004 masterpiece, Joy Shapes, you'll understand my dilemma. When I think noise, I think constant, randomly placed noise blocks, organized in only the loosest sense of the term. But that description could never apply to Charalambides. No, everything on Electricity Ghost is placed exactly where it should be, and was done so with the utmost precision. Recorded during the Joy Shapes sessions, Electricity Ghost echoes its predecessor in all the right ways; increasingly menacing female vocals and spine-bursting climaxes create an experience every bit as beautiful and disturbing as one could wish for. A stunning throwback to darker days.

Charalambides - Electricity Ghost II.mp3

0 comments: