Customer Reviews

Black Earth

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dark, dark atmospheres are created here. The band describes themselves as "horror jazz", which is close to what they sound like (although not in a schizophrenic John Zorn sorta way). The music is slow and brooding and very dark. Despite it's slowness and "jazziness" (although it certainly doesn't swing), this album is HEAVY - not in a distorted, down-tuned guitar kind of way, but in a CRUSHING ATMOSPHERE kind of way. This is the kind of music that overtakes you - the kind of music that when you listen to, you can't move or do anything, you're just paralyzed by the sheer weight of it all. _Black Earth_ makes you feel like the demons of hell are returning from below, reaching into your chest, and trying to take your soul. Highly recommended.

I saw "Bohren & Der Club of Gore" listed in the liner notes of Fantomas' "Delirium Cordia" and decided that any band with a name like that deserves a listen. So I looked in to Bohren, half expecting grind/noise weirdness (which isn't bad by any stretch) and much to my surprise and delight I heard what was described as "horror jazz". The ghostly sounding sax, slow drums, beautiful piano and Fender Rhodes all come together seamlessly creating some of the most wonderfully unique music I've ever heard. This isn't music for those with short attention spans or for people that need something different and weird to happen every other minute. Changes do take place within the songs, however it happens so slowly you might not even recognize it. "Black Earth" is a breath of fresh air in a musical climate populated by flavor of the week hip-hop, generic sounding "metal" and disposable pop. So turn it on, listen closely and fade out into infinity.

wow, this music is more slow than a disinterested wife retreiving a beer for the fat lazy man she married. slow and repetitive, but some slick music. at first i thought, wow, i've never heard a drummer play so slowly, but soon become captivated by by the amazing slowness of the whole thing. it moves along like a dark stretched out minimalistic symphony. though i'm a short-attention-span-spazoid and figured that i would just sleep through this whole long, drawn out piece of black something-or-another (earth, i guess), i found that i was really enjoying the whole thing; yeah, you'll have to wait about 7 minutes each time you feel something new should happen, but i guess that's just part of the experience. black and slow. really black and really slow. maybe even black black and slow slow.

3 1/2 stars


This dark minimalist jazz is gorgeous stuff, although the artist's limit themselves by sticking too closely to the regimen they have inked out for themselves. They perform haunted works that seem to repeat themselves thematically too often and cause your average non-predisposed audiophile to become disaffected from all the shimmering, lifeless death-odes we have never quite heard jazz records parlay. While this is by all accounts a standout sound, it is unfortunate this sensual band is intent on mining the same territory previously sought, I fear that without venturing further into this amazing palette they've rendered, this sound will play thin upon further releases. For now though, many tracks stay fresh in their utter creep into your chilled heart.

Can't remember why I bought this, whether it was impulse, intrigue or research, but when I pushed the play button I was bracing for something like 1349, or some strange Norwegian Black Metal venture. Boy, was I wrong. WRONG. The first song, some eight minutes and change, I thought was an off-put shot at setting the listener up for a metallic blow to the senses, but no. It drones on and on quite beautifully. The next impression I had was "whoa, that drummer's got an amazing feel for time." The second impression was "now I know where David Lynch draws inspiration." Moody, very very moody. A.D.D. stay away, music fans gather. Given a chance, you might be able to seduce that super hot vampire chick sitting across the room on the red vinyl love seat with this CD. Enjoy.

Think Jazz.
Think Darkness.
Think of an urban land.
Think of the gloomiest and grayest day you ever lived.
Think of an old saxophone, stationed in a dark and damp corner played by an old and frail man, whether he be black or white, conveying the same emotion a human would express when in trouble, doubt, pain, anger, sorrow, death...
Think darkness. Again.

I will not say more. I will not say less.

These cats have been rocking the grave since the early 90s, and this to me represents their penultimate snapshot in time. What they were doing when they started out changed quite a bit when their guitarist left, and culminated to the near-perfection of Sunset Mission. This was followed by Black Earth, which really signaled their arrival in the US when it was reissued by Ipecac. After this came a newish era (a la Geisterfaust and Dolores) which ushered in their most current sounds, including a vibraphone. In all these various phases their sound never altered too much, since they pretty much knew what they wanted from the start and were simply honing it to a razor's edge over the years. And while their newer albums aren't bad by any stretch, they just don't measure up to the perfection of Black Earth.

This is amazing stuff, and will stick with you for months after you hear it. I give it my highest possible recommendation and suggest you buy this on vinyl if you can. The warm crackle of a record player adds the perfect final layer to this menacing beauty.

Excellent CD. Very, very slow, dark jazz. If you were in a dark, smokey bar in a David Lynch movie this would be playing on the jukebox. Definately rewards repeated listens.

'Horror Jazz' is indeed the perfect term for the music found on this album. It's dark and it reeks of atmosphere. The low end is slow yet pulsating and the percussion is sparse, creating the perfect backdrop for the keys and saxophone to improvise delicate and almost gentle yet also tense solos (contradition I know). The overall feel of the music makes you feel like you're in a 1950s horror film and you can almost picture yourself wandering through the empty corridors of a haunted house in grainy black and white. It's perfect late night music and great for the musicians among you to play over when you're feeling tired and relaxed. Its soft yet foreboding sound doesn't make for easy listening but if you want a different take on jazz then Black Earth is great stuff.

This is truly a remarkable cd. Don't take my word for it, listen for yourself. Alone. In the dark. (shhh, did you hear that?) But seriously, this is a very good, very atmospheric, jazz cd that has become one of my favorites from this group of musicians.