This truly is a great album. A collaboration between members of current93, Nurse with wound, death in June and various other occasional contributors.
The sound makes it very much in the current93 vein but with Michael cashmore creating most of the music this really is his project. His classically styled acoustic melody’s are a revelation here. Coupled with some of the best vocal performances from the likes of Douglas P, David Tibet and Rose Mcdowall. Steven Stapleton provides his trademark touches for many of the songs. Particularly on the introduction , Beauty destroyed and obsession flowers as torture, where his Sheep ventilator guitar is seen in full mutated glory.
The use of keyboards, and various subtle string arrangements really add a lush otherworldly feel to the sound. I would use C93s Thunder perfect mind as a comparison but this is a much more refined and direct piece of work.
The albums stand out tracks for me are the wonderful Bloodstreamruns, with vocals from Tibet and one of the best violin hooks I have ever heard. It’s very subtle and reserved but the song has an epic undercurrent that is quite something.
The following track My black diary has guest vocals from Douglas P from death in June. Again it’s another reserved but intense folk workout, keys are used well in the this song as well as some nice orchestral hit’s.
Bone white glory the final track is a wonderful way to end a fantastic album. Again Cashmores acoustic guitar, the strings and ambience combine with Tibet’s vocals to a harmonic effect.
David Tibet’s performance is possible one of his best ever. The histrionics of Current93 are absent and are replaced by a melancholic abandon that suits his voice and the subject matter perfectly.
In my opinion this is one of if not the most perfect example of the neu/apocalyptic folk genre. It encompasses everything you would want from an album of this sort, and should be a starting point for anyone wanting to get into the genre.
