I clearly like to make things difficult for myself, otherwise why would I offer to review an album of ‘instrumental acoustic blues raga drone’? Mind you, ‘difficult’ music is a reasonable part of my musical collection, so I kinda shrug and peer inside.

First track, ‘Of Jack’s Darbari’ is..well, not having heard much Hindustani raga before I honestly can’t tell you how appropriate the title is, but it unfortunately and immediately hits a pet hate; seven minutes of scratchy, cacophonous and shapeless violin noise ceased to be avant-garde about thirty years ago. It does kind of work as noise music though to some degree, I guess, but it fails to break through my initial dislike, not carrying any real atmosphere with it.

Things morph most unexpectedly with ‘Wings Of Dirt’ where country, bluegrass and possibly Indian themes on violin burst brightly over a low drone for a pleasant, curiously straightforward journey which murmurs, jangles and sighs with the style of a languid chimera. So easy to relax into, it’s the kind of thing I would reckon Agalloch fans would go a bundle on. ‘Spikes & Ties’ drifts back to more abstract and ambient styles; slow and minimalist, echoing drone and metallic chimes and sudden spikes of sound it is, also, oddly relaxing despite those sharp peaks. There is a delicacy to the shades of sound, a real sense that things are stretching and teetering, but also a feeling that you are safe, that there is no threat.

‘Last Toast Before Capsizing’ is darker by degrees, a soft piano led shuffle though light percussion and rippling wind chime sounds, a low storm approaching from the distance. It rises in superb fashion, the piano the wind driven waves and the percussion the onset of rain and lightning. Evocative mood piece, to be sure and also a very impressive piece of composition and musicianship; not a wasted moment or a noise or note out of place. ‘From The Lakebed’ almost enthralled me too but the separating music ‘Ashes From A Photograph’ merely takes away time from me.

Effigy is not so much and album as a series of mood pieces that even on repeated listens seem have little, if nothing, in common with each other. This, surprisingly, isn’t as big a problem as you might think as it serves to individualise the tracks and when you have tracks generally weighing in at anything from eight to over twenty minutes they are more than capable of sculpting space for themselves.

On the whole this is the kind of album where you can gradually become very impressed with the construction and execution of these pieces even if it turns out not to be for you. I was drawn in by a couple of pieces, mesmerised by one and left unmoved but appreciative technically of others. Really not sure who I could recommend it to but maybe that’s the point; it isn’t neatly bundled music and could appeal to or alienate fans of any genre from noise to folk and back again. Be brave, try it and see; it wont even suit all drone fans but it is a different take on things even if parts made it difficult for me to fathom what the intent was.

I’m the one just about clambering off the fence, but only just.

(6/10 Gizmo)

http://www.myspace.com/peltuntitled/music