Australian
Oren Ambarchi is a sound artist with longstanding interests in
transcending conventional instrumental approaches, focusing mainly
on the guitar. On his previous albums with Touch as well as on
his releases for Tzadik and Southern Lord, Ambarchi has “transcended
guitar into a zone of alien beauty”. With ‘In The
Pendulum’s Embrace’, Ambarchi produces a follow-up
to 2004’s ‘Grapes from the Estate’ by continuing
with the suffocating slices of sub-sonic blackness which are complimented
by the ‘light’ that comes with acoustic unprocessed
instrumentation.
Over the course of 40 minutes and three tracks, Ambarchi engages
in an exercise of sonic-disorientation instead of sonic-destruction
and this is expertly done via wall shaking bass and drone-doom
which are interlaced with isolated elements of glass harmonica,
strings, bells, piano, percussion and guitars. On ‘Inamorata’
the instrumentation scuttles subtly in the background before rising
to the fore just like a slow-motion tear has been cut through
a pitch black sky to reveal blinding light. The combination of
lush but unhurried and solitary instrumentation creates a Grails-esque
post-rock feel to the composition. The closing track ‘Trailing
Moss In Mystic Glow’ features tightly clustered strings
flickering upon foreboding droneage which has now been relegated
to the background. Towards the end, murmured vocals join proceedings
to add a further element of ‘life’ to the now blossoming
piece.
On the inside cover Ambarchi has a black and grey picture of a
cold, almost empty beach with an industrial port in the background.
This image has particular resonance with the music of ‘In
The Pendulum’s Embrace’ as Ambarchi sonically portrays
a vision of desolate plains, subtle background industrial activity,
coldness and the deep black of the ocean through his sub-sonic
drone and bass activity. This bleakness is offset by the warm
instrumentation which may represent the life that occupies the
ocean, industrial port and beach.
Ultimately, Ambarchi succeeds in creating sub-sonic doom drone
which, due to the broad palette of instrumentation, has real soul.
His ability to arrange these conflicting elements (density and
fragility) in such a cohesive manner is impressive and makes ‘In
The Pendulum’s Embrace’ an album to cherish. Remember,
play LOUD.
For fans of: Keith Rowe, Sunn O))), Phill Niblock, Earth
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