Exile

Very slow, dark twanging guitar repetitions. Eerie, sparse compositions that challenge the American folk tradition. This album features no percussion, while cycling simple guitar chords and patterns for lengthy periods (half of the songs are >10 minutes) while layering droning guitar noise on top of dreamy, airy female vocals. Exile emphasizes guitars more than past efforts and took 5 years to record. Charalambides is the sister/brother Texan duo Tom and Christina Carter, who have been making experimental/drone/rock/psychedelia for 20 years now. Each artist also has a significant solo output, as well as an impressive resume of collaborative efforts. Brings to mind Bardo Pond (melodic fuzzy excess of track 5) and even Current 93 at times. The double LP is conveniently ripped to a single CD for your convenience. No FCCs.

1. Slow, bare acoustic guitar spacious plucking instrumental. (3:10)
*2. Minor guitar chords, way reverbed female vocals, and harder, droning strings and sustained guitar effects come in. (7:31)
3. Fuzzier dark relaxed eastern feel. (5:27)
4. Simplistic archaic meditative guitar, lyrics are a little awkward, slide twang secondary guitar. (6:41)
5. Slightly faster tempo, interlocking melodic guitar licks, soaring vocals and melody. Very pretty guitar noodling and just keeps going on and on. (11:48)
*6. Almost a gentle, goth, piano tingle, hypnotic warped lullaby, picks up a little bit in second half. (14:08)
7. Crawlingly slow and subdued with minimal instrumentation, bare plucked riff, dramatic vocals. (10:58)
8. Hypnotic guitar two-chord loop, vibes or some dreamy, echoey keys, epic guitar texture, double-tracked, dreamy vocals. Fuller sound compared to 7 especially. (14:32)