Live: Un Festín Sagital | Galería Callejera | 4.12.2016

This Sunday, Un Festín Sagital was featured in a new session of the great gigs organized by the Galería Callejera ("Street Gallery"), which not long ago had seen a performance by Thanatoloop, Michel Leroy's (Festín Sagital's frontman) solo act. Due to the geographic dispersal of the band (Leroy lives in La Serena, in Northern Chile, while percussionist Gonzalo Díaz and bassist Horacio Ferro live in Santiago, in the mid part of the country), Un Festín Sagital's live performances have been scant lately, so occasions like this are a must-go, particularly when the format is also especial, as in the case of the Galería Callejera.

Despite the above, what really gathered the curiosity before the event was, perhaps, the addition of thereminist Lucina Paz (Colectivo NO, Gatas Come Moscas) and saxophonist Julio Cortés (Fracaso, ojO, Pétalo Bisturí) to the band's usual lineup. At this stage, the core formed by Leroy, Díaz and Ferro has completely solidified (Ferro is the band's most recent member, and he entered in 2013), so the language that the band has developed throughout the last three years as regards improvisation can seem impermeable to any external element. And yet, both guests were up to the challenge.
The setlist featured only two songs, each one of which extended for nearly half an hour. They opened with "Bajo un Sol Inclemente" (part of the album Kosmodynamos). As always, this piece began with forbearing peacefulness, patiently weaving the overcast that gradually announces that a storm will take place. Early on, Lucina Paz's theremin dispelled any doubt regarding her inclusion in UFS's formula, flawlessly fitting into it by contributing with subtlety to the perfect equation whose intensity grows at a steady pace, unnoticeably, up to the point in which the foretold storm is unleashed. And then, the liberation, the chaos, the cathartic noise with no limits. In that moment, Cortés strikes without hesitation with a frantic improvisation in the sax, in perfect tuning with the band's spirit and once again confirming the idea of how well chosen these guests were.

The second half of the show consisted of "Asesino del Sol" (from Las Bestias Solares). With a more dissonant character, this song repeats the formula of its predecessor, with a subtle progression from a state of rest towards absolute unruliness, towards the dissolution into a noisy and monumental improvisational chaos. This time, the improvisation shows greater progression –as if we had been live witnesses of a band that begins to mutate into a quintet– and becomes a repetitive and deafening mantra, which then resumes its early calmness and suddently leaves us thunderstruck in the face of silence.
In this way, with only two pieces, Un Festín Sagital achieved a thorough, monolithic and hypnotic presentation; another item to be added into the band's impeccable record. Both guests managed to read perfectly the main trio's language and contributed artfully to the powerful cathartic exercise that Un Festín Sagital seem to always undertake. On the other hand, in addition to these inputs and the well-chosen setlist, the context is also worth of mention, no doubt. As regards this subject, it is a merit that must be granted to Galería Callejera and the valuable concept that it represents, because instead of making this music a niche, here it was all about public and open space, which makes it possible for people to be exposed to other forms of art, something that is always very valuable. —IMF

Damien Youth | 1997 | Bride of the Asylum

Folk | Singer-songwriter
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The case of Damien Youth is curious. With a career of over three decades and a large discography as an indelible registry of the way traveled, the scant information on the musician and the lack of diffusion of his work are hard to believe, particularly after one has weighted his material.
Bride of the Asylum is not only one of the true forgotten gems that can be found within his more than twenty albums, but also a criminally underrated landmark in the spectrum of subterranean music, from which Damien Youth certainly comes from. This is a record of a-temporal, a-historical folk, suspended in time; an album that has a universal character that is based, perhaps, on the simplicity of its sound, forasmuch as a good part of Bride of the Asylum relies on the most primary creative formula: a man and his guitar. And even when that format appears decorated –always with subtlety– by relying on different arrangements, Damien Youth's music never losts that trascendence.
On the other hand, whereas musically it is posible to trace some far references, such as Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake –in its most delicate moments– or even Syd Barrett –when it adopts a psychedelic character–, its the lyrical quality of Damien Youth's compositions what earns him a distinction, which involves the lyrics per se, his vocal performance and the amazing melodic lines that he weaves in each of the tracks of the album. There are no songs in Bride of the Asylum that don't stand out in this matter.

The genius of Bride of the Asylum glows by virtue of the pure honesty and genuine passion that Damien Youth puts in every second of this album. It is there, really, where the seed of a work as remarkable as this lies. —IMF

Brian Eno | 1985 | Thursday Afternoon

Ambient | Minimalism
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What can be said about Thursday Afternoon is not very different from what one might comment on Brian Eno's other ambient records. Somehow, it is an album that lies between the more structured ambient of Ambient 1: Music for Airports and the more deconstructive and exploratory approach that Eno adopted in Lux. In that sense, Neroli might be a good close reference, albeit Thursday Afternoon resorts to much calmer and pacific atmosphere than the tension that reigns in Neroli.
Consisting of a single, eponymous track of just over one hour, the sound of Thursday Afternoon is both relaxing and dreamy, and has a delicacy of unparalleled beauty in its fragility. Each sonic brushstroke is simple and even timid, but always conscientious; each brushstroke contributes to the development of colourful, yet never sparkling soundscapes, but subtle and nebulous ones. In sum, Thursday Afternoon is one of the hidden gems in Eno's vast catalog, a record whose relegation within his discography would seem baffling to anyone who undertakes the beautiful instrospective journey which is found here. —IMF

Darkthrone | 2013 | The Underground Resistance

Black | Heavy Metal | Crust Punk
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Nocturno Culto (guitar, bass, vocals) and Fenriz (drums, vocals, bass on "The Ones You Left Behind")

Since its beginning, Darkthrone was a peculiar band within the Nordic black metal scene. In fact, they didn't even play black metal in their early days, but rather death metal, like the excellent Soulside Journey –their debut album– shows. The bifurcation would come with the classic A Blaze in the Northern Sky and would extend until Panzerfaust, after which the duo would undertake an intermittent return to death metal, alternating with albums in the black metal vein, not always with positive results. Sardonic Wrath would be the last one in this sequence, and The Cult is Alive would then put the first brushstrokes of a new era in Darkthrone's history.
In their twelfth album, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto took a more disruptive spin than before and ventured without hesitation into the introduction of crust punk elements to their sound. F.O.A.D. would bolster this divergence, adding a new dimension to the black metal/crust punk dicotomy: heavy metal. However, although this exploration provided the already powerful sound of the band with renewed energy, neither these albums nor Dark Thrones and Black Flags nor Circle the Wagons reached the splendour of Darkthrone's more classic records.
In this context, the relevance of The Underground Resistance lies on the fact that it constitutes, precisely, the well-deserved consolidation of the new period. There's no hesitation whatsoever in the sonic abrasion that Darkthrone exerts in this album, which is evident not only in more rapid and aggresive songs, but also in a piece such as "Valkyrie", which has a somewhat melancholic character. The confidence that the duo has developed in this new format is especially reflected in the widespread use of clean vocals, which fits perfectly into the sound that the band has been exploring for the last decade. The composing efforts are solid, and instrumentally, Fenriz and Nocturno Culto have already become blood brothers. It is now impossible to classify Darkthrone; pretty much like in the early nineties, they have forged an unrepeatable identity for which The Underground Resistance is the best possible example. Amazing. —IMF

Pabst | 2016 | Skinwalker

Indie | Noise Rock
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The one element that definitely stands out in Skinwalker, Pabst's debut EP, is the attractive fusion of influences that the Berlin trio achieves. On the one hand, the heritage of indie rock in the vein of Sonic Youth, even reaching Dinosaur Jr.'s noise rock; on the other, it is just as clear that the band is strongly inspired by stoner, whose influence, however, appears shaped by the band's melodic sensitivity, which owes a lot to alternative rock. In that sense, Erik Heise's voice is a highlight in Pabst's recipe, without overlooking the instrumental efforts, which are quite remarkable as well. This equation works perfectly particularly in the case of the title track, "Skinwalker", which constitutes a catchy and salient single.
Notwithstanding the above, the band's formula has a serious flaw: it is depleted very, very quickly. This is a critical issue, inasmuch as we are talking of a 15-minute EP and, thus, it seems unthinkable that their resort could be depleted as fast as it happens here. Certainly, Pabst are not looking to reinvent anything or to go beyond the safety of nineties-flavored rock –and they shouldn't be judged for that–, but in the future it will be necessary for them to explore the grounds on which they wander and lead their sound through more sustainable path. But then again, there's another positive aspect: at least Skinwalker shows between the lines that the band has the necessary tools in order to undertake this challenge and to exploit the richness that shines here and there within this debut. It is an unavoidable duty. —IMF

A Full Cosmic Sound / Ø+yn ‎| 2016 | Split

Drone | Ambient | Experimental
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This nameless split brings together two of the most relevant bands within the current Latin American experimental scene, each one with a vast and fertile discography. Thus, it already sounded like a promising album on paper and, luckily and by virtue of both band's talent, it's up to the expectations.
In both parts of "Obsidiana" –which form the first half of the split–, A Full Cosmic Sound undertakes a beautiful ambient exercise in which a meditative and melancholic sound predominates. The band's remarkable merit is to have deconstructed its sound –always experimental and hypnotic– and to have taken it to its minimal expression, to its most primal and bare essence. The minimalist approach that AFCS adopted in "Obsidiana" has an evident genius to it and is a reflection of the different routes that the Santiago collective can undertake with no risk of getting lost. This is one of the highest points of their discography, no doubt.
On the other hand, although "En cromo" is not as innovative as the first half vis à vis the expectations that one could have in the face of Ø+yn's style, the sonic experiment towards which the group heads down does not pale in contrast to the first part of the split. Quite the opposite: while keeping the listener in trance, the band resorts to field recordings and to a sonic journey with a tribal and shamanic feel to garnish that introspective trip with psychedelic nuances and atmospheres that, albeit just as primal as those of A Full Cosmic Sound, are developed in Ø+yn's own language.
In their split, AFCS and Ø+yn simultaneously achieved cohesion and eclecticism in an album that, in sum, confirms the relevance and splendour of both collectives. It is, thus, advisable to listen, to immerse yourself and to, simply, lift your feet off the ground. —IMF

Caudal | 2016 | Let's All Take the Yellow Pills

Space | Post-Rock
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Aidan Baker (guitar), Gareth Sweeney (bass) and Felipe Salazar (drums)

After the unexpected twist that the Murk EP meant within Caudal's discography, it was worth asking what the next step of the Berlin trio would be. In that record, which was released last year, the band ventured into more lugubrious grounds than those of their previous albums, Forever in Another World and Ascension, which were tinged with space atmospheres and an undeniable kraut spirit. Thus, while in the latter Caudal's sound came close to the likes of NEU!, Agitation Free or even Ataxia, Murk's crypticism evoked Aidan Baker's work in Nadja at times.
Let's All Take the Yellow Pills –soon to be published by Calostro Recordings– unambiguously dispels all the questions. Returning to the hypnotic, space post-rock from before, Caudal seem to be back on the path from which they had diverted for an instant to experiment with a new formula. Thereby, and without hesitation, the band undertakes a journey through three pieces that confirm that Baker, Sweeney and Salazar speak the same language; one of outstanding originality, something that had already showed up in their previous releases. The atmospheres in Let's All Take... are patiently intertwined through a subtle and always heartwarming instrumental development that gradually shapes delicate, dreamy soundscapes that drive the listener into an introspective trip for which the pristine honesty of Caudal’s sound constitutes the perfect soundtrack. Another excellent release by the plurinational trio. —IMF