review

Boomkat

The aural equivalent of gazing across a stormy midnight ocean, the newest release on Type comes from The North Sea & Rameses III - with 'Night Of The Ankou' a long-distance collaboration that provokes unflinching comparisons with Slowdive, Deaf Center and all manner of soft-footed troubadours. Utterly vast in a manner that shows no embarrassment with the more epic end of prog, 'Night Of The Ankou' opens through the wheezing tones of 'Death Of The Ankou', wherein London's Rameses III and The North Sea (aka Digitalis boss Brad Rose) build an ambient masterpiece from an encroaching batch of elements that are simultaneously calming yet utterly beguiling. Recalling the work of Popol Vuh and Stars of the Lid, 'Death...' lulls the spirit through Eastern elements that are hypnotic without ever losing their focus - sucking your attention in deep, then keeping it there through just the right amount of instrumental bliss. Like having your emotions moulded around a sweetly satisfying core, the next piece is just as arresting - with 'Night Blossoms Written In Sanskrit' changing its focus marginally, ushering in shoe-gaze comparisons through triumphant arrangements and blissful soundscapes. Despite both clocking in at nearly twenty-minutes each, neither stay a second past their welcome - coaxing filaments of rimy instrumental nourishment from the fibrous elements on show. If that weren't enough, Type boss Xela has also turned up for a friable remix, contributing 'Return Of The Ankou' and in doing so topping off an already affecting record with a batch of oven-fresh drones and couched harp. Psychedelic, epic and genuinely warming, 'Night Of The Ankou' is a gem that won't need polishing.


2006/07/00