Back when I was a nipper in the 90s…. Ok, just in my 30s…. I was exploring the odd world of what I like to think of as “post -Norwegian black metal weirdshit”. Elend, Monumentum, Mortiis era 1, Ahkenaton’s Divine Symphonies, that band who did black metal vocals over piano accompaniment (sounded like Young Frankenstein’s ‘Putting On The Ritz’) etc. One band that I loved was Arcana, and in particular their classic Dark Age Of Reason debut which had that sweeping medieval atmosphere and sombre ambience.
The reason I mention all this is that in minutes the US one-man project Hagathorn took me back to that wonderful era of pushing boundaries between seemingly unrelated genres that actually had tangled roots. And to Arcana in particular.
Both the strength and the weakness of Hartwold is its seamless singular identity. From the beginning this is gentle, mostly string/synth orientated music. The feeling is medieval, quiet and folk tinged; misty morning and sylvan in style, delicate and precise in delivery. We have the raindrops of plucked harp notes, subtle keyboards, cello, violin and a minimalist drum sound now and then.
To be honest that, with variation in which instrument carries the refrain is what you get for 8 tracks. It probably sounds harsh, but this is one of those albums that either works for you or does not. As incidental film music this would be fine, but somehow for me this crosses from dungeon synth (which I’m sure they would argue passionately that it is not) through folk ambient and into…well, that’s the problem.
This is lovingly performed, deftly played music but there is no sense of travel here, no narrative to the theme. Neither does it work for me as simple atmospheric music. I constantly felt my mind drift completely away from it over repeated listens, rather than nudged along a path suggested or hinted at by the album. This is doubly sad as this vague area of music is something I love; I wanted to be inspired or enthralled and yet all I did was drift away.
I suspect if I owned a cottage, on a hill in the countryside on a misty sunny morning I could sit outside with the first coffee of the day and this, playing softly would enhance the mood. But, by itself it didn’t inspire.
I suspect this is a personal thing and that anyone interested in medieval ambient sounds embedded in rural life might feel differently, so give it a listen as it is undoubtedly of fine quality. I’ll regretfully pass though.
(5.5/10 Gizmo)
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