xdementiaPost subject: Luasa Raelon – Season of the Witch CD
Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:22 pmLuasa Raelon – Season of the Witch CD: http://www.iheartnoise.com/luasaraelon
Snip-Snip: http://www.iheartnoise.com/snipsnip
Overall Rating: A-
Composition: A-
Sounds: A-
Production Quality: B+
Concept: A-
Packaging: B-
I feel like to fully comprehend this album you first have to listen to Luasa Raelon's previous album The Poison City. This is equally as bleak, equally as lo-fi but it is deeper and has a wider variety of sounds then previous works. The space feels like it can be explored more, and although the tracks are quite repetitive they don't get as tiring. It is clear to me that David Reed has upped the ante with this excellent release of bleak industrial ambient.
Season of the Witch is full of cold, uninviting sounds that will sliver and slime along your skin, at first they will eat away at you like acid, but you will bite your tongue when you know you are contracting tetanus from the rusted core that cuts right into you. The giant rust whale, swims underwater in the toxic sludge. You will wake late in the night to the goat headed communist standing over you, daring you to move.
“Cursed” is probably my favorite track here because of the shining sounds that layer on top of each other so well. The album instantly throws you into the deep reaches of an industrial waste land where all jobs have been taken over by machines and if you're lucky you might come across one of the last humans working 16 hours into the night, repairing the machines and sleeping deep in the dank basement of the factory they are forced to inhabit.
For those of you unaware of Luasa Raelon's work you can expect raw droning synths with a lo-fi sensibility but produced with effectiveness. He creates a very unique sound that can be found in his other projects, but is very rare besides.
I really enjoy the evolution of both “Thieves” and “Liars” the latter of which depends on a rhythmic aspect that did take as much of the forefront in The Poison City. The tracks are repetitive drones and rhythms at their core with varying synths picking off the stragglers that lag behind but it always seems to be just enough to keep the strong moving.
“Burial At Sea” is a fitting end to my tormented death, the end of Season of the Witch does not point to better things as I are left feeling devoid of all hope. I am impressed by this material that moves forward just enough from Reed's previous work but of course retains everything that makes his creations great. If you are at all into either dark ambient or abstract industrial you must pick this up.
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