Raime

The debut album from UK-based duo Raime (aka Joe Andrews and Tom Halstead) has been eagerly awaited ever since their eponymous EP back in 2010. On paper, Raime's latest album fits neatly into two of 2012's rising trends: the move to instrumentation away from pure sampling and the interest in John Carpenter's soundtrack work. In practice, however, the album stands alone from anything else released this year. The record's tone is set with the brutality of "Passed Over Trail," with its intestinal sub-bass throbs and harsh stabs, and the album continues with the same stomach-aching brooding, intertwined with organic, almost techno-like pulses. Dark, slow and uncomfortable, the tension on Quarter Turns Over A Living Line just doesn't let up, taking — no, dragging — the listener on a terrifying journey that, with its mixture of dark ambient and haunting cello, sounds like Deaf Center on a bad trip. This is an astonishing album, but not an easy listen. Raime would be the perfect support act for a Scott Walker tour.