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Troum, "Eald-Ge-Streon"
As former members of the ambient/industrial project Maeror Tri, the duo now known as Troum developed and refined their combination of booming atmospheres and subtle soundscapes. As Troum, they continue their trek into spaciousness, creating drones of sweeping drama and roar.
The album consists of a variety of pieces that have been attempted or performed over the past seven years, appearing here in their most finished states (as finished as the artists can ever be satisfied with, that is). Opening with "Elation," the stage is set with low end tones and higher frequency ringing, crawling along at a slow pace and enshrouded in a tangible amount of reverb. The following "Useque Sumus Lux" keeps the sub-30hz frequencies pegged out, but throwing in rhythmic loops and a wider palette of noises. The piece is a running contrast of loud synths and raw rhythms, yet gentle and delicate ambient pastiches.
Both "Eolet" and "Ecstatic Forlornness" keep the rhythms in place, though the former is more buried and primitive in nature, while the latter is much more commanding and clattering. "Ecstatic Forlornness" is based on heavy elements and a lot of flanging and filtering, but the transitions between effects are almost too direct and jarring, never allowing the piece to hit its stride. The cover of Savage Republic’s "Procession" is similar, but more old school organic in nature. The echoing production is still present, but the allowance of more traditional rhythms and noticeable, although highly obscured, vocals give it more of an early 1980s feeling rather than oblique compositions.
"Dhanu-H" and the closing "Crescere" eschew the rhythms for symphonic, sweeping elements of dramatic flair. Both could be the score to a psychological drama, though the latter’s slow build from near silence into rawer textures and musical loops might be a bit too jarring to work in that capacity. Half of the first pressing of this disc includes a bonus second CD, consisting of the 33 minute track "Abhuna," which continues the dramatic ambience. Using all of the time allotted to it, the piece builds from nothing into a slow, sparse piece of glacial drift and reversed tones, reaching a warm and inviting conclusion instead of the expected raw and dark ending moments. While the second disc isn’t as impressive as the main album tracks, it does not detract from the experience either.
This set comes packaged in the traditionally beautiful Beta Lactam way, a heavy mini-gatefold jacket adorned with designs by Stephen O’Malley that compliment the subtle, yet complex sounds contained within very well. Considering it is more of a compilation of tracks rather than an album in the traditional sense, the pieces work extremely well together to form a coherent whole.
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