Ok this is a difficult one. I don’t believe I recall coming across Ataraxia before, despite an apparent thirty years of activity and twenty five releases of one kind or another, but apart from Cold Meat Industries their labels have been a bit off my beaten path. Still that’s not a problem. What the problem is, is the music.
I hate it when I am given music that is so thoughtful, so beautiful and so drenched in meaning but… It literally does nothing for me. Nothing. It’s not even like it’s too far away from other things I like. But I have listened to this fifty five minute work a dozen times and…
Well. Let’s be objective. As musicians they deserve that. What we have is seven tracks (plus bonus) of gentle, slightly undulating and lovely music. I wouldn’t call it post-rock per se, or neo-classical but between the slightly sombre but delicate melodies and the quasi choral and religious sounding vocals, which are at times stunning, it nestles comfortably in that zone. Opener ‘Iniziazone’, at nearly twelve minutes plays on a simple musical theme, perfect vocals with lots of rolled r’s and a subtle arrangement. For the first six minutes I think I’m going to love this. The theme moves into an even more skeletal sound, the vocals continue the chant like feel and the hypnotic repetitions grow stronger. And somewhere around there they both achieve creating that meditative state, and also over achieve and I’m gone. Half spoken radio voices kind of break through as my mind struggles to surface but I always go back under.
I think the next time I normally rouse on playthrough is when the breathy, heavy accented female voice whisper-sings ‘Sex Is A Prayer’. Freud make of that what you will, but it’s not a new sentiment to me and for some reason presented as it is as a mind opening revelation kind of disappoints. It is however another gentle, dreamlike movement and the voice is quite lovely.
Ah, well. This one has totally slipped me. Sand through fingers, dreams on waking; this album slides. It should be something I really like, but instead I drift and wander and when I turn back it hasn’t moved on it is still simply where I left it, unchanged.
Gentle, and I guess soothing for many, rich and beautifully created post-rock/neo-classical/hypnotic darkwave. Perfect production. But it simply does not connect with me on any level other than the objective and that is something music has to do. It’s personal. Clearly I am not the soul they are searching for. Maybe you are?
The score below reflects my connection, not their worth or their talent. Apologies to the band but I guess we drift in different currents.
(4/10 Gizmo)
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