As the UK staggers blindly away from Europe I find myself in a new relationship with Belgium. The stereotypical fare of Tintin, great beer and waffles is not the only thing drawing me towards this lowland nation. Consouling Sounds continue to lure me in with atmospheric, big riff, post metal loveliness. The latest of these (check out Eleonora btw) is Pothamus from Mechelen – is it me or is that not a really cool and post rock / sludgy name? Raya is their debut album chock full of tribal/sludge/post rock rifferama, and it’s bloody good.
Pothamus’ sound is expansive and deep whilst still managing to constrict in the right places, like a malfunction in an airlock. Whilst your ribs are beginning to bend in on themselves you can still gaze in wonder at the beauty of space.
Opener Orath is massive – it recalled the cosmic sorcery of Ufomammut with its constant humming bass tone, like a monolith sweeping silently through the blackness of space destroying all in its path. Add in some tribal drumming and mesmeric vocals that flit from gentle chant to harsh incantation and I was well on board this mission.
Viso that follows is a meditative piece that had me transported to an extremely comfortable place in my mind. Do not operate heavy machinery or attempt to drive whilst listening to this band! The arrangement of this track feels robotic, parts have an industrial feel and there is the comforting hum of machinery, which is then broken, yet somehow enhanced by gruff chanting and a jangling guitar line.
After nearly 21 minutes of out of body grooving Pothamus offer a little light relief with Heravis parts I and ii. The former being a velvety cushion of post rock that undulates like the Mediterranean under a lilo at dusk. Eventually that lilo will be forced in by the incoming tide and what better track to enjoy whilst lying on the sand gazing at the stars than the second part. Forcefully gentle with an effortless mix of keys and uplifting vocals backed by haunting riffs and a mesmerising rhythm section.
Talking of the rhythm section the gargantuan sixteen-minute title track is brought to life by a tribal drum intro that is straight out of Tarzan. Rather than Johnny Weismuller appearing over the horizon (side note did you know that his house in Hollywood had a swimming pool running throughout it so he could swim from room to room?) there is a big 80’s bass sound that reminds me of New Model Army or Bass Thing from The Wonderstuff. Add in some orchestration with horns and spacey keys and this is obviously going to be an epic journey. Did someone say Jumanji?
Just as I am thinking that this is going to be an organic earthbound journey a throbbing electronic bassline kicks in and it feels like that Aztec ruin we just started climbing is actually, heading back to the planet from whence it came. Later there is a distinctly gothic turn where a bassline that has me starting to sing twinkle twinkle little star (but with Pete Murphy’s voice) is joined by vocals verging on the Gregorian and the sound of a strange cosmic wind. Man this is some trip – and I am still in my dressing gown on a foggy Monday morning. Oh, but gentle reader, it builds, and builds. Oh how it builds, like Olympus rising from the tectonic plates, thrusting slowly through the earth’s crust, breaking the earthen hymen (steady on Matt!) . Where has this DOOM come from? Oh lordy!
Then it is time to depart with “Varos”. I finally have a peek at the lyric booklet – which is beautiful by the way , with each track depicted in tarot card form. “Abandon this vessel. Discard now. Un-nestle. Discard this earthly veil again”. OK, reluctantly I will.
If this is their debut full-length album, I cannot wait to hear what Pothamus have up their sleeves in the future. One of those releases to file under “holiday for the brain”. Guess what no pandemic can stop it either!
(8/10 Matt Mason)
10/12/2020 at 2:15 am
This is awesome stuff, Matt. Thanks! 9/10 for me.