Kreng

Less ambitious artists might recycle the clichés of haunted house piano (obviously player-less) and the sharp wolfing of violins that precede the whip-pan reveal of the thing in the mirror. Belgium's Pepijn Caudron chooses a broader palette and less direct route to illicit creeps. This debut recording brings together pieces that began life as music and sound design for a variety of theatre productions by Abattoir Fermé. Kreng sources corrupted bits of free-jazz, disembodied voices and long dormant 78s to conjure atmospheres thick with time and shadow. As with the best horror movies, tracks like "Transmutation Device" and "Nimmermeer" slowly tighten the coil of dread and then maintain that tension. Despite cover art from Svarte Greiner's Erik Skodvin, comparisons are not exactly valid, as Kreng seldom traffics in the sound of doom in its active form, more so the echoes of things gone sour. A closer comparison may be James Kirby's recordings as the Caretaker, as both detail the textures and residues of the past.