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Current 93
Black Ships Ate the Sky

Jnana Records

Posted: Friday, June 02, 2006
By: Matthew Johnson
Assistant Editor

For the last decade or so, Current 93's David Tibet has been gradually moving away from the epic dark folk style he is most known for. 1998's Soft Black Stars was lovely but sedate, and subsequent releases like The Great in the Small (all of Current 93's previous releases compressed into one cacophonous track) and I Have a Special Plan for This World (a collaboration with surrealist horror writer Thomas Ligotti) were conceptual but limited in their appeal, experiments appreciated by few outside of the project's devoted fan base. With Black Ships Ate the Sky, however, Tibet returns to the gloriously apocalyptic madness of such earlier masterpieces as Swastikas for Noddy. It's all here: folk influences and fairy tale references on "Sunset (The Death of Thumbelina)," horrifying psychedelic visions on "This Autistic Imperium is Nihil Reich," Tibet's reedy and nervewracking vocals, as exemplified by "Black Ships Seen Last Year South of Heaven," and moments of unexpected sweetness, like the tender references to house cats (a favorite Tibet theme) on "Bind Your Tortoise Mouth," all set to gently picked acoustic guitars and cellos that deliver a beauty that belies Tibet's strange and sometimes frightening imagery. All of this is rounded out by numerous versions of "Idumaea," a hymn written by 18th century Methodist leader Charles Wesley, performed here by a number of guest artists that range from current critical darlings like Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons) and Ben Chasney (of Six Organs of Admittance) to electronic music luminaries like Cosey Fanni-Tutti (of Throbbing Gristle). The unmistakable croon of Marc Almond begins the album, while English folk revivalist Shirley Collins, now in her 70's, finishes it in a voice as powerful as it ever was. While today's incarnation of Current 93 is far more eclectic than the band's earlier days, with dark music heavyweights like NON's Boyd Rice and Death in June's Douglas P. long gone from the picture, the music is as strong as ever, and fans of the earlier material will enjoy oblique hints to the band's past, like the industrial noise loops running beneath the surface of "Black Ships Were Sinking into Idumaea." Putting aside elements of folk and industrial alike though, this is a timeless album that defies easy categorization and again confirms that Tibet is infinitely more brilliant and bizarre than the many artists who have followed in his apocalyptic folk footsteps.