At Zeenath Parallel Heavens

While creating At Zeenath Parallel Heavens, Black to Comms Marc Richter considered how his own composing methods and results were similar to those of AI software. His music typically blends acoustic instruments, electronics, samples, and sounds he created, often radically transforming the source material, resulting in strange sonic mutations and hybrids. The albums pieces almost sound like they could be performed live by a chamber ensemble, yet something elevates them to the realm of the ethereal, and they sound just out of reach of what a group of musicians can play on acoustic instruments. Subtle looping and intense layering make it hard to tell which sounds are sampled, generated, or played live, and things get even more complex when voices (real, synthesized, or imagined) enter the mix. "Steep Thy Plumage in His Sweetness" is a bewildering mixture of swelling strings, hissing noises, glitches, and almost certainly artificial voices, which are sometimes indistinguishable from the violins. "Never Heed the Tongues of Wooers" is a more sinister piece with swarming strings, visceral plucks, and Diamanda-like ghostly wails, then a furious stampede of drums trample over everything until all thats left is the glow of neon sun rays. "La societe des reves" surrounds recurring samples of a childs voice with harsh rattling and booming noises, and "Musik im Schatten" is like being in the middle of a haunted house filled with hundreds of creaking doors. "Time Will Fly on Equal Pinions" seems more interested in transcendence than scariness, with scrambled voices rising above crashing drums and guitars. "Schleim des Nichtwissens" is the albums most sublime, heavenly moment, with truly stirring synths drifting into droning strings and horns. The heavy water flow, cool vibraphones, and chirping birds of "On the Grass Her Shoes of Deer-Skin" conclude the album on an oddly uplifting note. Dense, surreal, and unpredictable, At Zeenath Parallel Heavens is one of Black to Comms most powerful, mind-expanding efforts. ~ Paul Simpson