Music Reviews : Wrekmeister Harmonies – Then It All Came Down (2014)

 

Music Reviews : Wrekmeister Harmonies – Then It All Came Down (2014)

This one track LP from Wrekmeister Harmonies, including many guests (Riley Walker, Chris Brokaw, Wrest, Lydia Lane Stout, Chanel Pease, Kate Spelling, Indian, Mark Solotroff) , feels like an album its creator wanted the listener to continuously get wrapped into its more than half an hour long diatribe.

Passing through different stages of independent music with some more recognizable traits like the black metal presence or the female emule of The Microphones. WH named themself after the cult Hungarian film Wreckmeister Harmonies from Bela Tarr and their music is repeats the formulaic of Mulholland Drive by David Lynch. In the DVD release of Lynch’s film, it doesn’t have chapters and the viewer is forced to watch it from start to beginning. It is a deliberate decision from its director.

To continue with the analogy with Mulholland Drive, which is an ode to Hollywood, films, studios, the star system, Then It All Came Down is also a visit into music and its many genres. A cacophonous chorus of sounds and emotions. A musical piece that takes many listens to fully appreciate and get its surprising circumvolutions. At times only a little buzz is present compared to the total chaos of screaming and doom drumming.

With patience, the listener gets the reward for the wait. Like drone or noise music there are no comparable and the better judge for this album is the listener himself who will appreciate to different levels the blend of the obvious and many influences of Wrekmeister Harmonies.

As the author of those lines, my point of view is that I am greatly surprise by my first encounter with this collective and the mix of genres and sounds was a great experience for myself. There are some heavy riffs while some moments reflect a unexpected sensibility and a depth that few musicians would be eager to explore. For me, it is a nice discovery and an album that will accompany me at work in moments of profound concentration for a long time.

8.4