Music Review // Sarah Davachi "The Head As Form'd In The Crier's Choir" (Late Music)
This is released as a double record by Late Music so as I listen to it digitally I will try and take into consideration how it might sound broken up into pieces where you would have it come to an end and you'd flip over or change records. A slow, lulling type of deep bass sound begins this all. It's very droning and in a lot of ways reminds me of Tongue Depressor. This is that chill music I like to listen to while in a bath or floating around in a pool.
A tone comes through now that is somewhat sharp and the mood changes into something much more suspenseful. It feels like this can be used as a beaconing tone but it also just seems like we're getting into a horror film score. The pitch becomes higher now, a little bit sharper to the ear (dogs will not appreciate this) and almost glass-like as we approach the end of the first piece. I can hear the church organs coming through with this as well, which makes it all feel much more holy.
Bass notes begin to come in on the second song, which makes it feel almost like we're playing scales. It's back to that feeling of the cello drone, but it's calming as well. The way the sounds come out now feel much more like they are expanding as light, just starting at a point but growing as they get louder. It can be described like a megaphone affect perhaps. But then we lull back into the solemn gaze of this sound. As it gets a little bit wavy it can begin to feel like a lost transmission.
As we go into the third song, which is "The Crier's Choir", we would be flipping over to Side B on the first album. There are ambient drones behind this sound but it also has this strong feel of voices singing "ohm". This gets to a point of feedback where it is almost not nice for dogs, then it pauses and goes into a deeper feeling drone, one with more bass. This gradually grows louder and also more abrasive. As this drones on you can begin to hear the angelic vocals coming from behind it all.
That deep droning bass returns on "Trio For A Ground". It can feel like we're going into a dark and forbidden place. Angelic notes come in now, making this one feel like it's got that drone going like a lightsaber but at the same time just shines as bright as heaven. In many ways this can also feel like something being dead and buried and now it is rising from the ashes. A different type of drone comes through now and it feels like we're cutting through with a saw. As we near the end of this first record the drone comes through in slight waves.
On what would be the second record, low droning tones come through which make me think of someone blowing the horns in the time of ancient warriors. These come through slowly. More than one tone comes through at a time now and this can make the overall feeling of the drone wavy. Even though it is still coming through in blares I feel like this is a slow motion version of being stuck in traffic with multiple cars honking their horns in anger. If you imagine that traffic and then shift it to a slowed down pace, it could be how this sound comes out.
As that piece grows quieter and fades out, we shift into "Constants" now which is just several different tones droning out at the same time to make it feel as if the sound is glowing. The sound grows softer now and it feels like we're just floating through clouds, as it has become relaxing. There is also a bit of that hollow glass sound in here now, which makes this feel rather hypnotic. With about a minute left in this second piece and the conclusion of the first side of the second record we hear sounds that resemble church organs.
The last piece is called "Night Horns" and it is all of the last side of the end of the second record-- so this is it. We begin with these droning tones which make me feel as if we're on a boat at sea. Tones come in now like the church organ and it feels as if we're moving slowly still but yet also somehow faster than before. As we go further into the song it just feels more and more like something you might hear at a funeral, which is appropriate since this is the end of the entire record.
Organ tones begin to wind and as this song goes on into the second half it can feel haunted, as if something you would find in an old movie about Dracula. This also maintains this steady rhythm of droning which can make me feel as if it is hypnotic, as if whoever is behind this all has placed you under their spell. It just feels as if there is a certain amount of drama in here as well, which just means this isn't to be taken lightly. By the end this all just fades away but not without leaving its mark.
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