Those furious Nekrofolk from Poland’s ‘Let The World Burn Collective’ are back and who knows what the hell to expect after the experimentally deranged approach of last EP ‘W śnialni’ a couple of years ago? Well it’s barking mad and everything associated with it is in Polish making it all the weirder and difficult to fathom but listening unveils some clues amidst tracks that appear to translate to the likes of ‘Playful Bondage,’ ‘To The End,’ ‘Come Back,’ ‘Go’ and Polish Sleeping.’
What we get is clearly divisible into two halves that might not work collectively together but am sure are going to be particularly appealing if presented on two sides of vinyl. The first of these are a collection of nine songs, nearly all somewhere around the 3 and a bit minute mark presented with nary a pause for breath. Everything goes like the veritable clappers, the drummer getting a particularly sweaty work-out and the guitarists going hell for leather. It’s a seething pit of chaos interspersed with occasional vocals which are suddenly hollered out, spoken with intrigue or presented in a gang shouting style over the top. It’s manic and full of mayhem. Peeling back the layers though things do come through, the most apparent of which is a melody that is full of Middle Eastern mysticism. It’s like we are on a madcap Arabian adventure through the desert. Speaking of which by the time we get accommodated to the style there is also a sudden Western twang added which sounds like it has escaped from a Morricone soundtrack. At another point there is a rhythm enhanced by the vocals which are delivered in a vein that makes one think of them being presented to the oarsmen of a great Persian galley sweeping over the gulf. Add to this a fleeting part that has a bit of a warped film noir soundtrack about it and a final song ‘Gore!’ that sees things ending with a huge echoing reverberation sounding like a warped gong being hammered and you will be left feeling completely disorientated and dizzy.
Now Furia could have sensibly left it here but as we have come to learn there isn’t anything particularly sensible about this lot and we get to the flip side, a 28- minute soundscape which is on the whole the complete opposite of the preceding craziness. Things drift languidly along in a dreamy haze and it is one that is at first very minimalist and definitely music for those with plenty of patience. The track title ‘Ksiezyc, czyli Slonce’ seems to mean something along the lines of ‘The Moon, The Sun’ and the ever obsessive lunar musicologists at the heart take us on a journey that to me feels like one that starts at night and continues into the dawn of the next day. The reason for this are (the eventual) chants we get towards conclusion which sound a lot like a call to prayer but who knows, my interpretation could be completely wrong. It’s a bit of a gamble presenting two such opposite styles and its possible listeners may find the second one just to languid for them and not go back to it after a first exploration. Although I can appreciate it and can imagine sitting back and watching as an accompaniment to something visual (Pasolini’s Arabian Nights would be perfect) it’s the driving urgency of the earlier material that really does it here for me. It’s also worth mentioning that the band make a rare UK appearance at Fortress Festival next year and those heading to Scarborough in June are well advised to give them a watch.
(7.5/10 Pete Woods)
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