Hi. Kiva's taking this one. Send music shit to [ fosterhildingmusic@gmail.com ] or DM me on Instagram.
 |
| photos stolen from the internet. |
Ugly Man immediately erupts into pushing guitars and forceful drums, the feeling euphoric yet bittersweet. The kind of song that would play in the ending montage of a coming of age film. “Such an ugly man.” This song sets the precedent for how huge each track sounds.
16 Angels. Slow snare hits keep the song marching as guitars open up a vast landscape. The vocal production is super cool, the layering and stereo mixing gives it the weight it needs to be the focal point without stepping on any other instruments. This song also feels like a painful, yet beautiful reminiscence. The vocal layers really start to stand out about two minutes in, Dan harmonizing with himself. A lead guitar breaks through near the close as vocals go quiet. His guitar playing is so calculated--he never does too much or too little, which he maintains in each project. The solo feels like lightning striking through a thunderstorm--creating a path of light in the moving clouds.
Omen switches between a steady push and a more eruptive pulse. The vocal layering proves instrumental again--multiple voices yelling to introduce a larger crash that quickly slows into the death of the song.
Sacrificing a Calf is introduced by an electronic beat, which is then joined by multiple layers of simple guitar. The vocals are much quieter and closer on this track, feeling like the words are being whispered to you. There’s an effect added onto the vocals as it goes on, almost a reverb or an echo--the tail ends of his words whispering and fizzling out like dying lights. “As now the flesh rejoices, same as the skin transforms.” I love that this song stays in the same place, holding the same feel for the whole message. The end plunges into the constant electronic beat, a fuzzy kick sample playing it to a close.
Blanket. You can hear the Agriculture in Dan here, or rather the Dan in Agriculture, with quick black metal guitar and distant yelling. This song stays in the same place, a wide atmosphere of guitar creating a plane of noise, joined by parts that feel like heavy winds and dark clouds.
Lamplight is similar to Blanket--an instrumental noise song that opens up a definite environment. There’s more lead guitar that starts as an accent then becomes a stronger guiding sound.
The Beach. The piano in this song is so beautiful, his melodies in each instrument on this project continue to make me feel a biting nostalgia, maybe even regret, though I don’t know what for. The minimalistic, screeching guitar feels like agonized screams from miles away.
Pavement begins with a heavier push, a second of feedback opening the way for a larger, almost angrier piece. I won’t describe every second of these more ambient tracks, but the space he creates for these atmospheric landscapes is held so beautifully.
Takeout. It’s honestly hard to tell sometimes what’s heavily distorted guitar or heavily distorted vocals, so I may have gotten it wrong in a few places--but, I really love that about this project. You can’t always decipher everything, but the impact of it all is clear and this song is definitely a testament to that. I couldn’t begin to guess how many guitar tracks are on this song, so many different threads woven together to create this gigantic feeling, and sounding, piece.
A Great Man. We get more piano in this song, and I love the way he’s mic’d up this recording. You get some really cool minimal room noises that make you feel like you’re in the same spot as him. The piano is beautiful, but still a melancholic weight on your chest. Almost halfway through, he reintroduces his ripping, distorted guitar. The way his effects work, you can’t decipher strumming or plucking or anything--it’s just a tear in the space he’s created. The piano continues to feel more and more somber as the song goes on, slow and pressing.
It was insightful to hear a project from Dan as a huge Agriculture listener, seeing the parts of him that make their sound and the parts that are all his own. Stream Kneeling, listen to Agriculture, and support Dan.
8/10
Stream Kneeling.
-Kiva
Comments
Post a Comment