Vault Of Angels

Ambient/drone/experimental. First EP from Seattle-based duo, but their sound is really mature. I would never have guessed that they were new. Folky melodies break up into drone, or are slowly overwhelmed by drone. Many of the tracks achieve dizzying intensities and become noisy before subsiding. The finger-picked guitar is what makes this album special.

Try 2, 6, 7. No FCCs.

1) “Deaths Headed Sphinx” (7:02): Big drone, something juddering. Spooky voice intoning something deep, inaudible. Drone overcomes the voice and becomes enveloping. Becomes much louder, so be careful! Ends with a bit of string.
2) “Salton Sea” (3:01): Scratchy jammy guitar. Really grimy, rich country jam. Great.
3) “Soft Eugenics” (3:41): Clacking guitars with shimmering wall of sound.
4) “Condoless Culture” (4:28): Slower pace, bass exploring something on the low end.
5) “Muon Derision” (3:10): Noisier at the beginning--insistent pulsing note. Kind of psychedelic.
6) “Vault of Angels” (9:29): Buzzing guitars on top of warm rushes of drone which increase in intensity. Kind of an amazing build to a great drone climax. Sudden end.
7) “Mirari” (6:23): Folky guitar, gentle accents. Almost sounds like a different album--still nice though.

--Mr Tumnus