This is the eighth album from Austria’s Dornenreich. The track titles are evocative enough, translating into English as “Of Power and Desire and Young Feathers”, “The Light trusts the Night”, “In the Flow of Flames”, “Dream of Dreams” etc. The oddity continues with the core combination of an acoustic guitar, a deeply whispered Teutonic vocal and an off-the-wall violin. “Im Ersten aller Spiele” (In the First of All Games”) is curiously and perhaps appropriately playful. It’s the frenzied violin chorus which provides the spooky, folksy atmosphere. It’s neither happy nor sad. I’m not sure what to make of this. “Farbentanz” (dance of colours) seems to be a key concept. “Im Ersten aller Spiele” is like a weird folk dance.
The mad violin-playing continues on “Von Kraft und Wunsch und Jungen Federn”. It’s dramatic in its way. There’s a lot of breathless activity and mither but to what end? I’m not really getting the drift. The combination of acoustic guitar, the violin and the haunting whispering like rustling leaves feature again on “Des Meeres Atmen” (Breathing of the Sea). As the violin slows down and injects melancholy, the acoustic guitar seeks to race off but is repelled. Because of the vocals, it’s like poetry with musical accompaniment. The lashing of waves at the end reminds us what the track is about. I had trouble sharing the vocalist’s angst, especially on “Das Licht vertraut der Nacht”. Breaking into thumping heaviness, das Licht vertraut der Nacht is a big deal, judging by the way it’s screamed. The ship is steadied with a calming acoustic rhythm, then an epic theme is threatened and we go back to the main theme.
This is not the first time I’ve had a problem trying to fathom Teutonic creativity and what they might regard as intensity. The constant changing doesn’t help. “Aus Mut Gewirkt” (Made Out of Courage) has an exotic guitar line but it’s set in a chaotic mix and it’s not pleasant. “Im Fluss der Flammen” does have a flow, and as an acoustic number, it’s evocative and colourful yet as it progresses, it’s languid and aimless. This precedes “Traumestraum” and its oblique acoustic mutterings. The quiet “Blume der Stille” (Flower of Silence) completes the collection but lacks inspiration.
The track titles of “Freiheit” (Freedom) suggest evocative themes but as a musical work it was too introspective and obscure. I do read German but this shouldn’t have to be a listening requirement and isn’t, as this album seems to be about the atmospheres it conveys. I just didn’t get the message, lyrically or musically.
(5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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