October 21 2011
NEW DEAD VOICES ON AIR ALBUM REVIEWED
Update :: Corey
Dead Voices on Air, in addition to the series of collaborative singles I mentioned earlier, is releasing a brand new full-length CD album via Lens Records on November 1st. Entitled Michael and the Angels Fought, this album focuses upon Mark Spybey's spacious side. The term ambient has unfortunately come to carry the stigma of endlessly interminable minutes of hastily assembled pads passing themselves off as sonic depth, boring all involved save the most intoxicated. DVOA avoids the cliché, illustrating the true beauty possible in the genre. The motion of these pieces captures the serenity of floating in water, of inhaling pure winter air, of warm moments of frozen time. On 'Shadow' simple, repeated melodic motions on cello waltz their way through ever evolving textures, the pulses of the body slowed to the rhythm of contemplation, Godspeed You! Black Emperor without the drama. The epic 'Moon' begins with the burbling of a nightmare soundtrack, caustic and chilling, recalling Edward Ka-Spel at his most devious or Coil at their most unsettling, moving through stages of orchestral warmth and vibrating thought. With guest singer Ivana Salipur's chanting hanging suspended in the air, 'Voice' evokes the sacred, while 'Pulse' explores the textural possibilities of Bella Emerson's manipulated cello. 'Sudden' takes us on dark march through hidden memories and ancient evils, evoking Nurse With Wound at their most resonant, the hints of almost-recognizable elements reminiscent of Skinny Puppy's legendary Download. This is not music for traveling through the mental reaches of outer space, but rather, for personal realization and sacred revelation within, dust dancing in the sunlight of an antique store window. For me, it holds a similar place to the works of Arvo Pårt or the concluding tracks of Doubting Thomas's The Infidel. With moments both sinister and uplifting, Michael and the Angels Fought is one of Dead Voices on Air's most compelling records to date.
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