Solid Little Rock Jams

Evangelista - Prince of Truth

I think I read in some review (Dusted Magazine?) of this album that Carla Bozulich got pneumonia right before the sessions and so she had to do all her vocals separately and edit all the noise making and soundscapery that she wasn't able to oversee into something that met her satisfaction. So there's some explanation as to why this isn't as explosive as last year's Hello, Voyager. Even if the compositions here don't quite meet the standard set by that album (nor is that really Bozulich's aim), there is still a lot on Prince of Truth to chew on.

The music here is slow, droney, and beautifully recorded. The accordion or harmonium or whatever is probably what is earning this all the Tom Waits comparisons, but the experience of listening to these tracks is more akin to one of those SUNN O))) side projects or Scott Walker's avant-garde classical curio And Who Shall Go To The Ball And What Shall Go To The Ball. Lots of semi-improvised mood pieces to lose yourself in and maybe end up falling asleep to, but with plenty of variations in the dark noise brutality level. "Tremble Dragonfly" is pretty representative of what most of the album sounds like, a restrained dirge full of carefully plucked upright bass and mournful string arrangements with murmured Bozulich vocals. Throw this bad boy into some headphones and launch yourself into a richly unsettling world of sound! And if that's not enough for you, just stop on by the balls deep drone of nine and half minute long closer "On The Captain's Side," which isn't quite the knockout epic death/life slab that Hello, Voyager's title track was, but its windy rumblings and double tracked vocal sighs are welcome, nonetheless.

"The Slayer" and "You Are Jaguar"... these are the rockers. "I Lay There In Front of Me Covered In Ice"... this is the closest thing to a real song with a real vocal melody. "Iris Didn't Spell" and "Crack Teeth" kind of sound like Talk Talk or Bark Psychosis because of the drums and that harmonium thing (maybe I'm thinking of a melodica, who knows!) And I just named every song on the album, which I must say is actually pretty damn enjoyable. Carla Bozulich is good at making music and working with other people who are also good at making music, yep. Hopefully next time she won't get sick.

Rating: Great stuff here!

Download Link: "I Lay There In Front of Me Covered In Ice"... it's a song. If this isn't dark enough for you, then you'll love the rest even more!