Off The Tracks

Off The Tracks
  • Blog
    • Interviews
    • Miscellany
    • Special Guests
    • Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • The Vinyl Countdown
  • Back Catalogue
  • About
    • About
    • About the banner image
    • On Song
    • Advertise
January 29, 2014 by Simon Sweetman

The Haxan Cloak: Excavation

Haxan Cloack ExcavatorThe Haxan Cloak

Excavation

Tri Angle Records

Imagine Lustmord and Mike Patton sharing horror-movie scoring tips and you have some idea of what to expect when going into this new album by The Haxan Cloak. The British dark ambient project is a low-frequency set of rumbles that has plenty to offer to fans of goth and ambient and industrial and minimalism – a sort of beat-less Aphex Twin-meets-Burial via Vessel’s Order of Noise.

Oh god this is good!

It’s really quite frightening and many will find this horrible if not horrifying (horrifying is a likely positive response, by the way) but I find a lot of beauty within the darkness and heaviness of this album – it takes its time to unfold, the two-part title track feels like a creepy art-installation/soundtrack, the shorter tracks like Mara feel like they might work better if Scott Walker stepped up to croon over them – but there is still something ominous and eerie and wonderful about it.

But it would be worth it for the closing track alone, the 12-minute synth ride that is The Drop, a kind of Trent Reznor demo-sketch that’s been crafted into the most beautiful, beguiling post-Burial moment of drawn-out, yearning, nearly yawning pop-song reverie.

Bobby Kric introduced a lot of magic and wonder on his first Haxan Cloak full-lengther but Excavation really ups the game. You could possibly drive yourself mad listening to this on headphones, or you might just experience an aural bliss that doesn’t even require an acid trip.

I love the terror of this record, the torment, I find something strangely uplifting about it. But I’m cautious to recommend it – I’m sure a lot of people just won’t hear anything in it. And I know what that’s like. I almost don’t consider this music – that’s how spellbound I am by it. It’s been the soundtrack for my room, late at night, writing, or first thing in the morning. It’s almost as if I didn’t press play, didn’t put any album on, this music just seeping into the walls, just occupying the space – allowing so much space too, within and around the big, low sounds. I’m hooked. You might not be. But give it a go if you like anything remotely in the fields of dark-ambient. It feels like the after-party chill-pill from a post-rock wig-out. It feels like the very best vortex. I’m happily lost in the sound of this record as it grumbles and swirls and so slowly unfurls. Every time feels like the first time. It’s that sort of experience.

Posted in Blog, Reviews and tagged with Album Review, Bobby Kric, Burial, Dark Ambient, Excavation, Lustmord, Mike Patton, The Haxan Cloak, Vessel. RSS 2.0 feed.
« Mulchzoid: Dark Horse
Amy Speace: How To Sleep In A Stormy Boat »

One Response to The Haxan Cloak: Excavation

  1. Scott_A says:
    February 1, 2014 at 12:03 am

    “I love the terror of this record, the torment, I find something
    strangely uplifting about it. But I’m cautious to recommend it – I’m
    sure a lot of people just won’t hear anything in it. And I know what
    that’s like. I almost don’t consider this music – that’s how spellbound I
    am by it. It’s been the soundtrack for my room, late at night, writing,
    or first thing in the morning. It’s almost as if I didn’t press play,
    didn’t put any album on, this music just seeping into the walls, just
    occupying the space – allowing so much space too, within and around the
    big, low sounds.”

    Mate. I don’t think I could write a better description of this album than that. Well done. And thank you.

Popular

  • Janna Lapidus Leblanc: Four Years In Pictures
  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 8 – Mark Knopfler
  • The Sad Story of Bob Welch: Fleetwood Mac’s Most Undervalued Member
  • The Faggets: WE DON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT SHIT
  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 11 – Lindsey Buckingham
  • Revisiting Live at Knebworth (1990)
  • David Bowie’s Most Underrated Album: 1. Outside
  • The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 174 Maraetotara Falls
  • Mike Edison: Sympathy For The Drummer – Why Charlie Watts Matters
  • Poem: Promising Dumb Punchline

Archives

Tags

Album Review Auckland Book Book Review Compilation DJ DJ Set DVD DVD Review EP Film Film Review Gig Gig Review Guest Blog Guitar Interview Jazz Jon Mcleary Live Live Gig LP Movie Music NZ Podcast Poem Record Records Simon Sweetman Soundtrack Spines Spotify Stub Stubs Sweetman Podcast The Ghost of Electricity The Spines The Vinyl Countdown Vinyl Wellington Wgtn Writing You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron [OST]

Categories

  • Back Catalogue
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • Miscellany
  • Mixtapes
  • Playlists
  • Podcasts
  • Reviews
  • Scene Of The Day
  • Special Guests
  • The Vinyl Countdown

Off The Tracks is the home of Sweetman Podcast, a weekly interview/chat-based pod. It's also home to my reviews across film, TV, music and books and some creative writing as well.

Off The Tracks aims to provide quality reviews and essays, regular blog updates about the shows, albums, books and movies you should be experiencing.

It's a passion project. Your support will help to keep Off The Tracks online.

All content © 2021 by Off The Tracks. WordPress Themes by Graph Paper Press