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REVIEWS
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Handless
Dark Passenger
Empty Words
Whiteout
Lullabye
The Wait
Between
Black Brothel
Adverse
Mr. Hidden
Slowburn
Threshold
Wavelength
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Pandora's Black Book
Black Brothel
Tympanik Audio
Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2009
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor
A lush work of restrained but tense breakcore and chilling yet soothing ambience.
There are always multiple facets to the human psyche, so it should never come as a surprise when an artist displays elements of those varying facets in his or her music. Pandora's Black Book represents the more ambient side of Alaska's Lucidstatic as each track encompasses the listener in a chilling tapestry of swelling arctic lushness interwoven with complex breakcore rhythms. Black Brothel is certainly not as harsh as Lucidstatic presented with his Gravedigger album, but his signatures are readily apparent, making Pandora's Black Book seem like more of a softer, more introspective version of his other work.
"Handless" starts us off slowly as deep rolls of dark pads give way to boldly simple synthesizers that belie the complexity of the drum programming, which steadily builds in intensity to turn the track into a full on drum & bass spectacle. The song sets the stage for what is to come, from the analog swells of atmospheric melodies mingling with glitch-laden breaks in "Empty Words" to the clanging rhythms and insectoid and animalistic synth effects giving rise to a rather catchy bass line in "The Wait," and even to the atonal haunt and echoes of distant voices in the title track, Pandora's Black Book is certainly no less intricate than Lucidstatic's other material. "Mr. Hidden" even gives us a head-bopping romp of whistling pads and warbling siren-esque synths playing off of occasionally tribal rhythms, making for a disarming and upbeat track. However, even among these songs, and especially in the twinkling orchestral landscapes of "Whiteout," the reverberating pianos and static manipulations of "Lullabye," and culminating in the cold symphony of windy effects, ambient vocal incantations, piano, stabs of almost menacing horns, and string-like pads of "Wavelength," Black Brothel is definitely a much more thoughtful and environmental entry in Lucidstatic's musical oeuvre.
And yet, for all its expansive atmospheres and excellently production, Pandora's Black Book has only so much to distinguish it from other ambient/post-industrial acts. Each track is well constructed and arranged, and Black Brothel does well to immerse the listener in a frigid sonic habitat that is perhaps exemplary of Lucidstatic's Alaskan home, which will likely be a determining element in his music for this project. For this, Black Brothel is a rarely tense but mostly soothing listen.
"Handless" starts us off slowly as deep rolls of dark pads give way to boldly simple synthesizers that belie the complexity of the drum programming, which steadily builds in intensity to turn the track into a full on drum & bass spectacle. The song sets the stage for what is to come, from the analog swells of atmospheric melodies mingling with glitch-laden breaks in "Empty Words" to the clanging rhythms and insectoid and animalistic synth effects giving rise to a rather catchy bass line in "The Wait," and even to the atonal haunt and echoes of distant voices in the title track, Pandora's Black Book is certainly no less intricate than Lucidstatic's other material. "Mr. Hidden" even gives us a head-bopping romp of whistling pads and warbling siren-esque synths playing off of occasionally tribal rhythms, making for a disarming and upbeat track. However, even among these songs, and especially in the twinkling orchestral landscapes of "Whiteout," the reverberating pianos and static manipulations of "Lullabye," and culminating in the cold symphony of windy effects, ambient vocal incantations, piano, stabs of almost menacing horns, and string-like pads of "Wavelength," Black Brothel is definitely a much more thoughtful and environmental entry in Lucidstatic's musical oeuvre.
And yet, for all its expansive atmospheres and excellently production, Pandora's Black Book has only so much to distinguish it from other ambient/post-industrial acts. Each track is well constructed and arranged, and Black Brothel does well to immerse the listener in a frigid sonic habitat that is perhaps exemplary of Lucidstatic's Alaskan home, which will likely be a determining element in his music for this project. For this, Black Brothel is a rarely tense but mostly soothing listen.
