Bit of a Tricky one this, in more ways than one. Firstly, we are told that “It is a record for the single individual in a contemplative state,” no problems with that as the way things are many of us solitary thinkers right now. We are also told its title is based on TS Elliot’s The Wasteland and that it is drab and cinematic. I am not sure why the word drab is used as if it is a good thing but certainly would not disagree with that description in the slightest. Seemingly Ordeal and Plight are an ever revolving collective helmed by “artistic mastermind” Stefan Hackländer and this album which has evolved from earlier black metal sound has no less than 21 personnel involved on it. I have no idea where they all get involved as it is musically quite minimalistic. Some are on the tracks with vocals and those mentioned include Stefan Hackländer and Reiner H. Wiese: Ryanne von Dorst (Dool), Alessandro Tartarus (Secrets of the Moon, Tulcandra, Haradwaith), Daniel Schweigler (Sweet Ermengarde), Cornelia Schmitt (Mandrah). Perhaps if you have the full cd, you may well have access to the complete credits.
I should stress this is not black but rather grey and as we established drab and not metal in the slightest. There are mentions of various artists provided as similar but on the whole this takes reference from electronica and facets of trip-hop and is acted out like a tribute to the Bristolian scene. Portishead is one of those aforementioned acts but unfortunately this is no Dummy and any shred of brilliance on that album is lost on what has actually been an incredibly frustrating listen. The first couple of instrumental tracks annoy, the opener is smothered in droning reverb almost drenching it and losing any subtle tones at first, both tracks also go nowhere fast and just as they are starting to find feet abruptly stop all of a sudden. Other similarities could be made to Massive Attack due to both music and the various vocalists joining in. Unfortunately, I never saw the hype about them either, not even tracks with Liz Fraser singing on. At least here the likes of ‘And I Miss Her’ is a highlight due to Ryanne von Dorst’s participation but whoever provides the male vocal contributions just don’t do it for me and nasally sounding croaks on ‘In The Desert I Prefer You Over Water’ (ugh) annoy as much as the pretentious bloody song title.
Yep, it’s pretty obvious that despite an intriguing write up which had me curious to listen to this album it really is on a hiding to nothing. On the whole it’s a soporific listening experience and that’s the polite way of saying it is in danger of sending you to sleep. It’s music for a wet Wednesday when you can’t be bothered to get off the couch and motivated. Grandeur is very much fleeting but there is a very occasional touch of colour and if it were all like the aforementioned ‘And I Miss Her’ I would be much more comfortable nestled in its love-lost misery. At 45 minutes its not overlong but still sporadic, songs just don’t flow and editing down to lose some of the meandering instrumentals would not do it any harm. In fact, I would probably have liked this a fair bit more if it had been around a 4-track EP. Her Bones.. is essentially an expression in backward naval gazing at the end of the day and although some may find charm in it, this was unfortunately an ordeal I just didn’t engage with.
(5/10 Pete Woods)
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