The first thing that will strike you about this extraordinary collaboration between Berlin-based musicians Monolog and Subheim is its sheer enormity. Five-song EPs don't often feel like major releases, but Conviction is different. It's powerful, challenging and deeply engaging. It'll suck you in like a midnight broadcast of The Exorcist.
It's not all noise and attitude. The EP opens with "Wone," an electronic dirge that is equal parts drum machine and out-of-commission power station. Next comes "Benedict," every bit the semi-religious experience its title promises. The disc's most in-your-face assault, it'll test your ears and your will. And then, remarkably, the EP closes with the beautifully ethereal "Colourful Flight." Denovali could release that track on any collection of ambient works and it would be a standout. It's glorious.
Here's hoping a full-length disc follows soon.
(Denovali)It's not all noise and attitude. The EP opens with "Wone," an electronic dirge that is equal parts drum machine and out-of-commission power station. Next comes "Benedict," every bit the semi-religious experience its title promises. The disc's most in-your-face assault, it'll test your ears and your will. And then, remarkably, the EP closes with the beautifully ethereal "Colourful Flight." Denovali could release that track on any collection of ambient works and it would be a standout. It's glorious.
Here's hoping a full-length disc follows soon.