maanantai 30. huhtikuuta 2012

Hu Creix - The Present Forward // NMMREM VII

Narrow-minded Metalhead reviews experimental music - VII
[Siro229] Hu Creix - The Present Forward (Sirona Edition)

Hu Creix vs John 3:16 - Ambient Double Header

Introduction

I am starting to believe that the hardest music to make successfully is ambient. Just think about it, music that is minimalistic and repetetive, and you have to craft it to be interesting.

In this double header I am taking a look on two Ambient releases. In this review: Hu Creix - The Present Forward and later on: John 3:16 - Sinner's Prayer. Both artists quite succeed in this trade, both with a fine release, but in the end fall in the same loophole. What is it? LENGTH. 

Hu Creix - The Present Forward

Hu Creix's The Present Forward clocks over 90 minutes. 90 minutes! Are you kidding me? After about 10+ listens I've gotten to a point where i love the first 26 minutes but after that get carried away and stop noticing the music.

By sense it is because the best 3 tracks The Detuned Awakening, Artist and One Thrill are placed as 2nd, 3rd and 4th. The next track I derailed is still interesting, especally because it has a major old-Scorn-like vibe (the Evanescence era). But the extremely repetitive Voodoo Bride and Dancing Fish are quite a fall. Having Voodoo Bride in two different versions, clocking over 20 minutes in one release doesn't feel like a good move for me.

However the best three tracks mix ambient, odd electronics and saxophone in a wonderful sense, making Hu Creix at best comparable to the Doom Jazz giant Bohren & Der Club of Gore. Something which can be transferred to two words. IMMENSE POTENTIAL. Somehow One Thrill manages to work great even without saxophone, with the help of an exciting tom-tom -drumbeat.

The record picks up its jazz roots in Lazy Shark and somehow manages to transfer it to sinister yet soothing trip-hop beat; crafting another fantastic event. However the ending is a trinity that resembles I derailed in quality, but falls slightly under it. Interesting, but not superb (and unfortunately also without the Scorn-nostalgy)

Im anxiously awaiting the time when all these good underground musicians stop to THINK before they release all their efforts in one packet. The Present Forward could have been divided in 2 packets, by easily just naming one part I and other part II. Now this 90 minute slab is just too repetitive and LONG to be fully enjoyed at one go. Unless you want fine sounds to turn into elevator music. Thats not really whats supposed to happen.

A release that manifests on listeners patience but can also provide immediate ambience; "filling up jagged spaces". Grows on time and certainly takes more than a few listens to completely open up. After digesting and excavating the sounds, some tracks grow but some lack the growth factor and end up on skipping wire. An enjoyable release packed with a lamentably common remark: "could have been a lot better".

Overall score: 7½-/10

The album is free to download at: http://archive.org/details/siro229HuCreix-ThePresentForwardsironaEdition

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