THE DEVIL'S MONTH: November 2023
Every first Thursday we round up some of the finest releases of the previous month.
As the end of the year inches closer and we music lovers begin to be buried underneath lists that encapsulate the last twelve months of music - yeah, we’ll begin ours soon too - it’s easy to lose track of the here and now. Which is why our usual collaboration with Mondo Negro to bring you five cool records from the past month is more important than ever right now, don’t you think? Well, of course you do.
Here’s our fab five for November, a few of which grace these pages not for the first time, if you will remember. What late 2023 releases have been rocking your world? Let us know in the comments!
Alos
Embrace The Darkness
(Dio Drone / Archaeological Records / Occulto)
So much more than just a record. As you might know, Alos is the individual vehicle of expression for OvO’s Stefania Pedretti, and this just might be at the same time the most personal and the most evocative and affecting piece she’s ever shared with us. Having gone through a difficult time health-wise in the last couple of years, those hardships greatly informed this performance - this ritual, a word that for once makes complete sense and is not just used for “kvlt” value or whatever - which took place of the slopes of the most active volcano in Italy, Mount Stromboli. It’s an enveloping, magical journey made entirely of what you could call field recordings, as all sounds on the record were registered live in several natural locations on the Stromboli island, like Sciara del Fuoco and the cave of Aeolus. With her multi-faceted voice, a DIY modular synth, a few bells and a collection of objects mostly made of glass, Stefania takes us on a journey of darkness, yes, but also healing, discovery and ethereal beauty like precious few others have before.
Christian Kjellvander
Hold Your Love Still
(Tapete Records)
Christian is a celebrated Swedish musician with a rich history behind him already, as a member of Loosegoats and also with his very respectable solo career, but whether you’ve been a fan for 25 years or if you’ve never heard of him sort of doesn’t matter for your enjoyment of this phenomenal record. It’s a (mostly) quiet, sombre affair, which does, as all the best things of this kind, indeed have a few cracks where the light gets in, but those only become apparent as you walk the grey roads that Christian takes you on with his velvety baritone and his gritty lyrics, through gorgeously deep songs such as the almost a capella opener ‘Western Hemisphere’, the rich dark folk of ‘Notes From The Drive Between Simat And Alcoi‘, or the euphorically mournful ‘Baleen Whale’. And with this we’ve only covered the album’s three opening songs. Social injustice/inequality and even climate change are a few of the topics floating around on a couple of songs, but just like it might have happened to you with last year’s amazing Madrugada ‘Chimes At Midnight’ album, of which there are a few hints here, or Nick Cave’s ‘The Boatman’s Call’, Gabriel Bruce’s ‘Love In Arms’ or Matt Elliott’s ‘The Broken Man’, just to throw a few personal favourites out there, mostly ‘Hold Your Love Still’ is one of those records that will connect directly with your heart even before you even start to figure out what it all might be about. True raw emotion does that to you.
Exulansis
Overtures Of Uprising / Hymns Of Collapse
(Bindrune Recordings)
Sometimes working with music leads you to good places. I had actually heard ‘Sequestered Sympathy’, Exulansis’ debut album, back when it came out in 2019, but buried as it surely was among the other million releases of that particular week, it didn’t make a lasting dent in my memory (and having returned to it now, I admit that it should have). It was only when being assigned to do an interview with them for Decibel magazine that I had to dedicate myself properly to the work of these Portland natives, and the timing for that was perfect, as they were just about to release not one, but two new albums. One of them, ‘Overtures Of Uprising’, sees them continue to develop their agile, ferocious but highly atmospheric and emotional take on black metal. Yes, they use a violin, and such is the positive impact of the instrument in their sound that they should be used as a gateway for every metal band thinking of using it - does it feel as natural, as wild and as organic as it does in Exulansis? If it doesn’t, don’t bother. As great as ‘Overtures…’ is, the other album, however, might be the most exciting of this ambitious dual proposal - ‘Hymns Of Collapse’ features the band entirely “naked”, bringing to the front the folk and chamber music element that is also obviously present in their metal output, but in full acoustic form. Here is where a band lives or dies by their songwriting ability, with no noise and no shrieking to hide behind, and Exulansis clear that test with absolutely golden marks. As one user gushes on their Bandcamp, this is “a heart-wrenching and gorgeous record that brings together political and personal themes into a singular, immaculate offering”, and I couldn’t imagine a better description for it.
Gauze Trail
A Moment Worth A Life
(Static Ritual Recordings)
Remember when I picked Gauze Trail as Band Of The Week based on the one song that was available to listen to at the time? Turns out my instincts were spot on - this debut album by the Connecticut trio, recorded by the great Steve Austin (a mark of quality if there ever was one), is indeed the shit, even if in ways that I couldn’t predict at all at the time. Some of the hints given by that first advance song, ‘Unrest’, unravel a little more throughout the album, and you could generally throw the “noise rock” tag at it, but there is so much more at play here. Much, much harsher than I imagined, first of all, as some of these songs, including crushing opener ‘To Be’, sound like the noisiest Acid Bath moments coupled with one of those blackgrind bands that seem to be out to get you (hey the beginning of ‘Corridors Of Psychological Warfare’ is straight up lo-fi black metal, didn’t really see that coming!), to the point that there are even some Crisis circa ‘The Hollowing’ vibes to this, and that’s not a comparison I throw around lightly. And yes, as with ‘Unrest’, Mackie’s vocals, in all their varied and jagged, pure-emotion glory, act as the wildcard throughout the whole thing. Whenever they kick in, the mood of the respective song is completely changed, and her incredible performance gives the band immeasurable extra depth. A dissonant, uneasy and surprisingly nasty gem to darken the last few weeks of 2023.
The Night Terrors
HYPNOTICA - Composition for Theremin and Electronic Music Synthesizer
(Disdain Records)
Yeah, The Night Terrors were inevitably Band Of The Week just the other day, as I am a huge fan and this is a very welcome comeback after a few years of absence where main man Miles Brown focused on his solo stuff. So my description of ‘Hypnotica’ should be fresh in your memory if you’re a regular reader. In any case, the uniquely fascinating appeal of this record is easily explained in a few choice words - theremin, synth, creepy, soundtracky and fucking awesome. That should do it.