In Rotation, August 2009
Frédérik Sisa
It’s the big one-seven here at Morbid Outlook. That’s right, it’s been seventeen years since Morbid Outlook took its first tentative steps into the world and grew up into the fine gothic ‘zine we know and love. Given a (sub)culture that tends to wax and wane, Morbid Outlook has remained a steadfast keeper of all of those things that makes goth so distinctive and lasting; the music, the fashion, and, of course, the outlook. Ever since I started reading – let’s just say it was “many” years ago – I held the writer’s ambition of contributing in my own dubiously humble way. It’s a great pleasure to say that this particularly ambition has been fulfilled. So happy birthday, Morbid Outlook, and many happy returns. Dare I chink my glass and say “here’s to another seventeen?”
And on that merry note, let’s tune in to this month’s In Rotation...
GPKISM – Sublimis
Track Listing: Omnia, Synthesis, Metempsykhosis, Immaculatus, Thanatosis, Sublimis, Sanktus.
The visual kei-influenced GPKISM describe themselves as the “manifestation of baroque essence fused with electro/industrial sound.” Fair enough; with everything from slick, hard-edged guitar work, thumping bass, plinking harpsichord, and operatic vocals, this project of GPK (Gothique Prince Ken) and Kiwamu (of Japanese goth band Blood) has all the lush, overbearing ornamentation of a Louis XIV sitting room transplanted into an industrial warehouse – with flash to spare. Baroque? Try rococo. Any of the tracks on this mini-album would be right at home in one of Mick Mercer’s Hex Files compilations, but the romantic goth clichés are overindulgent. “I’ll soon lose all my light, my tears will all be dry/I’m here forever and ever” sings GPK to eye-rolling effect on the title track, Sublimis. The instrumentation is well-assembled; sometimes it proves disarming. But ultimately GPKISM’s excess on Sublimis just feels like an overinflated throwback to American/UK goth and industrial bands that have done this sort of thing better over a decade ago.
Waves Under Water – Winter Garden
Track Listing: Winter Garden, Thirsty, My Cup, I Am The Ocean.
Haven’t we heard this before? Dark wave flirting with the pop side of the melody, plush female vocals, synthetic beats and melodies... yes, this is all very familiar. Despite tame songcrafting, the EP seduces with a catchiness vaguely suggestive of The Birthday Massacre. Repeated exposure draws out Waves Under Water’s inherent likeability and sincere effort, defiantly questioning why every band should be expected to push the envelope. Sometimes, starting with an established musical foundation and reinforcing with good musicianship is good enough – and this appealing Swedish band has an assured confidence that is increasingly persuasive. The goes-down-smooth EP is short but promising, hinting at something greater to come in their forthcoming debut album, Serpents and the Tree.
Various – Odyssey Into Rapture, Volume 1
Track Listing: David Reyes - The Magic Woods, Library Tapes - The Rivers Turned To Cobblestone, Abandoned Toys - An Expanding Tremble, Ephemeral Mists - A Pale Slumber, Phanatos - Voyage (Quest for the Shores of Aphrodite), Aranis - Vala, The New Pollutants - Kidnap Theme, Hana - Hide, Michel Avannier - La Rencontre, The Synthetic Dream Foundation w/Hannah Fury - Trapeze, MePhI - Crystal Night, Aonua - Spirit of the Deep, Fiona Joy Hawkins - Contemplating, Samantha Bouquin, Scythelence - Transparent Eyelids, Enigma de Ultratumba - To My Unrest, Pete Ardron & Samanta Ray - Interuterion 3.
The title may be one of those irritatingly New Age clichés, but the album itself, an eclectic anthology of neo–classical fusion pieces from diverse artists on the Mythological Records label, is far from ordinary or trite. Dreamy, meditative, unexpected, Odyssey Into Rapture is haunted by a genuine experimental spirit that is classical in form and worldly in perspective. A variety of influences can be inferred, inviting strained comparisons to Vangelis through Dead Can Dance, the soundtrack of an especially mysterious performance of Cirque du Soleil, or the musical spotlight at the end of PRI’s The World. But the album goes beyond influences to offer unique musical chimeras – with surprises, too, like vocals by Hannah Fury on the Synthetic Dream Foundation’s track “Trapeze”. Unlike last month’s Sky So Grey, this anthology serves its purpose very well by offering a flavour of artists whose individual merits invite further discovery.
JK Wiechert – Wasteland
Track Listing: Marching To Oblivion, Battle Theme, Get Me Out Of Here, Wasteland, Mass Killing Technology, Returning Home, A Peaceful Place, The Wasteland At Home, Forgive Me If I Disappear, Deep Down, The Outsiders, Checksum, Repeat.
The album starts out with the inoffensive plunking of piano keys then cranks up the industrial before careening across mournful violin dirges backed up by synthetic keyboards and vague erhu–like accompaniments. J.K. Wiechert then moves on to various electro–noise experiments. If it all ends up sounding a bit like Nine Inch Nails without Trent Reznor’s vision, consider that Wiechert also boxes his name in a suspiciously familiar way. The lacuna is not a technical one. Wiechert shows a clear mastery of all the dials, slides, keys and assorted musical tools of his trade. But Wasteland lacks a distinctive voice and a unifying vision beyond an overarching and generic gloom. It’s more soundtrack than speaker–buster, better suited to the licensing Wiechert is steadfastly pursuing than listeners looking for a concert in a box.
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