On Mon, 03 Sep 2018 09:09:01 -0400, beekay <ctte@aol.com> wrote:
Starting with the steady, contemplative piano and slight feedback on
the opening "We Played Some Open Chords," A Winged Victory for the
Sullen can't be called a barrel of laughs per se, but their song
titles -- not to mention their band name -- suggest a knowing
playfulness with the conventions of moodily beautiful 21st century
drone/ambient. Given that the core members are composer Dustin
O'Halloran and Stars of the Lid veteran Adam Wiltzie, it's little
surprise that both those conventions, and how to work well beyond
them, are within their grasp on this debut release. Much like some
Stars of the Lid releases, the album and song names may verge on the
wry, but without that context, something like the slow strings and
feeling of suffused sorrow on the first part of "Requiem for the
Static King," or the involving textures of "Steep Hills of Vicodin
Tears" simply are what they are, and quite beautifully so at that.
While the sonic connections to the members' past work are clear, so
are the distinctions; if the duo is less about full-on beautiful
drones than Stars of the Lid often were, there's a similar
appreciation for the slowly unfolding and the calmly insular,
touchstones ranging as far as George Winston as Eno ("A Symphony
Pathetique," almost exclusively piano aside from some distant shading
that appears a little more clearly toward the end, is arguably the
extreme of this approach on the album, elegantly done every step of
the way). Even with the titular or seeming snark brought to bear, the
feeling often seems simply appropriate more than anything else --
"Minuet for a Cheap Piano" is almost just that, counting the extra
layered tones in the background, while "All Farewells Are Sudden"
doesn't close out the album on a quick, final note but a soft, string
piece fade, a slow wheezing of tone and delay that's a conclusion and
a half when it comes to wrapping things up with a gentle bow. - Ned
Raggett
http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-winged-victory-for-the-sullen-mw0002192994
|
|
 - "cover.jpg" yEnc (1/2) [659K]')){kind=link}