Handmade Birds continues to push the envelope, putting out releases from some of the most innovative artists. Some that come to mind include Circle of Ouroborus, Sutekh Hexen, Servile Sect, and Locrian. Pinkish Black is absolutely no exception! I was totally stunned by their fresh sound. As you listen along, it’s like a magic boat ride where you can point out this or that influence. There’s definitely dark ambient atmospheres and distortions, but there’s also doomy guitar despairings, suicidal-pop death rock song structures, and an overall psychedelic ceremonial ritualism. It’s a beautiful piece of dark rock experimentalism. It’s not crushing in intensity, yet you are uncontrollably veiled with night and death and obscurity. One of the strongest points on this whole album is the use of vocals. The drawn out echo of chant is at the same time understandable and cryptic. It’s like you kind of get a sense of the poetry, but still have a shroud of mystery that keeps it from being too clear and lucid. This is great because it makes the voice puddle up on the tracks like a heavy downpour, the vocals providing another curtain of sound along with the guitar and ambiance. I’m usually not a huge fan of recognizable human acoustics with this kind of music, because I like the otherness of this kind of sonic drapery. However, this one maintains a heavy otherness, for it paints another side of humanity that is rarely seen except in the crime journals and horror flicks. The drums also deserve attention. The frantic clashes and deep bangs carry the suspense strongly. Throughout this album is weaved a diverse black thread that appears thick in some spots with more dramatic guitar reverbage and at other times is thin with pregnant stillness and then longer drawn out guitar sludge. Overall, an incredibly enjoyable listen upon the first encounter. I am indeed looking forward to making this one an old friend and becoming well acquainted with its tracks. Handmade Birds did an awesome job wrapping up this bad boy too. Thick sleeves. 180g vinyl I believe. Photographic record labels. And a heavy black dust jacket. So pretty. You can get this on CD too, but why would you do that when you can get it on wax? Enjoy.
