ANDREAS BRANDAL "The Land Of Perfect Twilight" C31 (Fluere Tapes)

 

The ever prolific Andreas Brandal has found a great home in Sweden’s Fluere Tapes, releasing a brilliantly dark half-hour’s worth of moody, cinematic pieces that bridge the gap between the eerier, droning soundscapes of Constance Demby and the brooding, beatless, atmospheric interludes of your favorite Scandinavian, atmospheric black metal outfits. The results aren’t euphoric so much as informed, stoic peace, and the light-dark tug-o-war motifs are pretty much all you could possibly ask for on a rainy day. Andreas Brandal continues to deliver!

Also, if you’re into this sort of thing, do keep an eye out for more releases by Fluere Tapes, as they’re both relatively new to the field and slated to be game changers!

https://flueretapes.bandcamp.com/album/the-land-of-perfect-twilight

-- Jacob An Kittenplan

ANDREAS BRANDAL “Flames and Ether” C46 (Oxtail Recordings)

Melancholy. It’s everywhere today, permeating the collective consciousness. It often manifests itself outwardly as anger, and whether or not that’s a misdirected reaction is dependent upon how you feel about the object of that anger. Andreas Brandal, the prolific Andreas Brandal (seriously, check the dude’s Discogs page), has a brand spankin’ new tape out on Oxtail, and whether you’ve got a fire in you or you’re grieving the loss of a philosophy or worldview – or even if you’ve moved on into a bleak future westworld (not necessarily Westworld) – it will speak to you in ways you might not expect, whispers across landscapes and thunder in distant clouds. Brandal’s harnessed the language of near-future dystopia by combining it with “spaghetti western” flourishes, presenting in result an apocalyptic experience, one where the oxymoronic violence and tranquility of the title have converged and spawned. The juxtaposition is strange and majestic. In short, it’s stunning.

Each of the eight pieces here convey an extreme sense of mood, fixating on that sort of sci-fi atmosphere that propels the imagination to creative new heights. There are obvious places it goes, and you can figure out your own destinations for yourself, filling in personal references from my description so far. Guitar and synthesizer, along with occasional strings and percussion, in the hands of this master, are perfectly combined for maximum transportation. A true new world is created here – Brandal should have his hand in some sort of soundtrack work, as there has to be a Hollywood studio just begging for this kind of scene-setting. But it’s out here among us, with the shellshocked and disillusioned masses, pits in our stomachs as we face the future, or the past, alternately enflamed or narcotized. And there it is, Flames and Ether, a reflection of the utter fiction of our weird, actual lives.

Andreas Brandal

Oxtail Recordings

--Ryan Masteller

ANDREAS BRANDAL “Murmurs and Eches” (Field Hymns)

Andreas Brandal takes Bohren & der Club of Gore’s glacial gloom (but trading that saxamophone for more textural synthesizer layerins, mind you) and then he breeds this with Earth’s bluesy, heavy, un-distorted, long-form riffery and Lungfish’s pass-the-focal-point-baton layer-movement. On top of this…or more like buried just beneath…throw in a few samples/field recordings/choral chants here & there and we’ve got a soundtrack that’s brooding, pulse-slowing, and cultivating of chordal anticipation and satisfaction well worth repeated listens.

http://www.andreasbrandal.com/

and/or

http://shop.fieldhymns.com/

- - Jacob An Kittenplan

4 from Field Hymns

When a label, in this case Field Hymns, does what it does with such perfection, it makes my job as a reviewer quite difficult. For those listeners into vintage synth buzz, arpeggio-filled drone/wiz, then these four releases are a must have/hear. If you want short bursts of noise or rock, look elsewhere. Basically, if this aint your thang, then you will be bored to tears. Otherwise hop on board the star cruiser.  

The sometimes lengthy compositions on these tapes (and most of the label's catalog) can transport or relax a listener, depending on one's particular needs. The other day I needed a peaceful bit of "quiet time," so I grabbed this stack of Field Hymns releases and went to work listening in a half-slumber, the blinds drawn, only hints of  afternoon sunlight creeping in on my introspection. Bastian Void's Fluorescent Bells is my personal favorite because it is just so damn OUT THERE. Jonathan James Carr's Well-Tempered Ignorance (which combines some awesome musicianship with musique concrete style audio) is the next best of the batch. Ultimately though, I think you fans of synth-space traversing should find your own personal highlights amongst the many great FH tapes put out this, or any other year.

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