CD, Lens Records, 2009
www.deadvoicesonair.com
“Fast Falls The Eventide” is the eleventh full-length release from Mark Spybey which includes a second disc of the reissued 1994 cassette, “Abrader”, a new album which is an odyssey of sounds that will evoke soothing and agitated responses. Spybey has mastered the fine art of experimental music by never teetering at the brink of chaos too long and drawing in the listener with classical elements heard through new ears.
The flow of “Fast Falls the Eventide” starts by testing the listener with experimental soundscapes before allowing the genius to walk out of the shadows. The first song, “Ailm”, is a subtle harmonic loop with minimalist percussion morphing into reverse notes leading into a jazz-influenced “Let Meins Awake”. “Seachange” is a siren screaming through static and sporadic glitches as heard through a cassette tape being destroyed. “Aescher” starts with a choir singing through stacks of filters and fades into a rhythmic drone ambience with reverbed vocals dancing in and out of the mist. “Mete Him Out The Windes” twinkles with percussive electronic synths as a prelude to the experimental drums of “Sammer”. “Tear My Salt Eyes” is a tribal drum circle meets crunchy bent circuits and wavering bagpipe tones. “Ih639” has a classical rock feel with its guitar riffs echoing beneath a scattered drum and reversed hats and vocal snippets. “Iol doth Yeshu” is an experiment in high pitch vocal harmonies reminiscent of Aphex Twin falling into the demented choir of “Vebdresden” and “The Talomon” wire introduces an ethnic feel heard through a filter. The title track clocks in at twenty-two minutes of operatic bliss lulling the listener into a minimalist wet dream while “Lenin-blume” is the perfect mischievous child tempting you to come back soon, closing the album out and managing to capture a full releases’ range of emotions.
On the second disc you can look forward to two unreleased tracks and a taste of Cevin Key’s contributions. “Concretion” has a heartbeat like a piston with low lulls soothing your senses as the temp slows to create a sound similar to a giant chewing on gravel. “Vaerglass” and “Hafted Maul” display the roots of Spybeys’s style utilizing tonal drones and crackling ambience. “Papa Papa Revers” creates an eerie atmosphere of high frequencies and tribal drums and suddenly drops into a lo-fi national anthem with “Honour Boe” being a twelve-minute walk through a factory complete with whirring electronics, subsonic growls and ethereal ambience of looped samples.
This collection is a treat for the loyal fan and an impressive range of genres for the newcomers that will not soon be forgotten.
[8/10]
— James Church