Artist: ∆AIMON
Title: ∆AIMON
Genre: Witch-house
Release Date: 10th December 2013
Label: Artoffact Records
Album Review
In 2012, I heard ∆AIMON's song ‘Black Cross’ and it... crucified me. This electronic duo from San Diego, California, combines down-tempo beats with a dark, romantic atmosphere evoking DEAD CAN DANCE. They are one of the most prominent acts of the so-called “witch-house” scene but in fact, they are cross-genre, utilising strong influences from industrial, no-wave, trip-hop, and experimental music. After a number of EP's released by Tundra Dubs, this album is their first full-length venture, released by the Canadian label Artoffact Records.
As a whole, it is a complete success. Nancy Lutz' angelic voice alternates in sheer contrast with Brant Showers' devilish chants. The arrangements are 100% electronic with dark ambient / trip-pop / witch overtones. The whole conveys a delightful occult feeling, always hypnotizing. You enter their dark world with the first track, ‘vargtimmen’ (‘Hour of the Wolf’ in Swedish), guided by Lutz' soft whispers in your ear. Then you are surprised by the second track, ‘Seraphim’, which features a very untypical upbeat sequence (yes!) topped by Showers' gothic voice. ‘dissolvte’ is very close to ‘Black Cross’ with its haunting melody and tribal rhythm. ‘LOW’ is also a very strong song, especially thanks to Showers' heavily effected vocals in the chorus: his voice literally screams and, as often with this duo, is immediately counterpointed by Lutz' soft threnody.
Later, the organ sound and the melodies in ‘Balance’ strengthen the link with DEAD CAN DANCE, and ‘anima’ is a bit messy in terms of arrangements. ‘amen’ starts with very low bass sounds, which might as well damage your sound system, and develops into an extremely spooky atmosphere, evoking IN SLAUGHTER NATIVES. ‘bruising’ is more romantic, with a beautiful piano riff and female vocals that have touching dark folk accents: clearly the most accessible track. ‘EXU REI’ corresponds to ‘Choke’ on the duo's previous EP ‘Flatliners’. It has the same menacing sequences: impressive! ‘Paræsthesia’ starts with horrifying sounds and piano notes echoing in the distance: an amazing atmosphere, on which Lutz's voice comes like a delightful caress. The real drums give a very realistic sound to the song. ‘Order ∴ ∴’ features yet another very catchy melody sung by Nancy Lutz, reminiscent of HUNGRY LUCY or HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS.
The album closes with ‘APOSTATIC’: a slap in the face dominated by the amazing sounds of pump shotguns which were already present in ‘Choke’. Showers' tribal, repetitive chant takes you to a parodistic ending. On the 2CD Limited Edition, you get additional remixes. The ones that impressed me most are WMX's remix of LOW and High Functioning Flesh's remix of ‘anima’. In a nutshell, this first album is a great achievement for this very promising duo. It sounds like a dark ceremony in the woods of Twin Peaks. Clearly one of the best dark electronic album ever produced. Now, the question will be for them: what next?
Tracklist
| CD1 01. vargtimmen - 3:29 02. Seraphim - 4:04 03. dissolvte - 4:58 04. LOW - 4:32 05. Balance - 4:42 06. anima - 4:06 07. amen - 4:15 08. bruising - 4:46 09. EXU REI - 4:29 10. Paræsthesia - 4:39 11. Order ∴ ∴ - 4:57 12. APOSTATIC - 4:05 |
CD2 - Remixes 01. Seraphim (HexRx Remix) - 4:34 02. amen (Rationale Remix) - 5:29 03. LOW (WMX Remix) - 4:33 04. anima (iVardensphere Remix) - 5:02 05. EXU REI (Mr.Kitty Remix) - 4:08 06. amen (D/SIR Remix) - 4:39 07. LOW (Ritualz Remix) - 4:31 08. EXU REI (Gheists Remix) - 4:41 09. anima (High Functioning Flesh Remix) - 4:09 |
Line-up
Nancy Lutz and Brant Showers
Websites
http://www.aaimon.com / https://www.facebook.com/aaaimon
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10
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