"Borders and Barrens" is only $13.00CAN plus taxes and shipping!

"Borders and Barrens" by Lammergeyer (a side project from Anthony Paul Kerby of The Circular Ruins) is a lush and beautiful collection of work evoking new atmospheres and spaces. A fine example of the wonders of environmental ambience, "Borders and Barrens" is an excellent disc sure to inspire the imagination and the senses.

The disc opens with the sonically rich "Where the Sea Ends", a lovely track where tones rise and fall like the tides while voices play in the background overtop a drone that evokes fluid images of the ocean. "Leaving the Dark Earth" follows, a cascading drift of sounds that vibrate and oscilate lightly, gently. There's a sense of tragedy to this track, a feeling of loss and sacrifice, a sadness that informs it's sound. Track three, "The Blue Path", features a percolating synth line and sweeping pads that slowly move the piece forward. It's a brighter track than the last, something a little more hopeful that balances the previous darkness. "Promise" follows, a subtle track where a steady drone plays underneath a building phrase, tones drifting through the song, gaining in strength only long enough to be noticed and then disappearing into the ether. The sound of wind opens "Rainflower", a fine example of environmental ambience bringing to mind thoughts of lush green mountainsides and light showers. Track six, "Genesis", pulses with the sound of primal geothermal forces, a feeling of magma flowing deep beneath the earth's core. Very beautiful and very powerful. "We All Fall Down" is up next, a steadily growing drone rising to the fore overtop distant garbled voices while deep analog tones burble and tease. It's a beautifully enigmatic track, something mysterious and curious, a track to inspire the imagination. "In Praise of Darkness" is a shorter piece, a lovely but brief dance along the edge of a field of stars and other heavenly bodies. "Absence" uses backwards loops to create an otherworldy environment, a landscape more akin to the moon than the earth. "Everything That Lives" is a slight glimpse into an alien culture, leading into the longer "Night Flight", a track that brings to mind the sound of travelling through the cosmos, fully capturing both the danger and wonder inherent in that kind of journey. "Gyroscope" closes the disc, synth lines bubbling around eachother, a deep blending of sounds and shapes. A lovely way to end.

Without doubt "Borders and Barrens" is a lovely example of how music and sound can transport the listener to new terrains and environments, creating atmospheres we may already be familiar with as well as others that we've never seen before. Kerby's mastery of the genre is clearly evident with this release, and one can only hope that the artistry found in "Borders and Barrens" will win him an even larger audience to enjoy his work. Highly recommended.

rik - ping things