Customer Reviews

Criminal's Return

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

 

 

Just when I thought Holy Sons couldn't possibly find any new territory to explore, Emil Amos drops another bomb on the record industry. This guy might be the hardest working dude in the business today (see also: Grails, Pelican). I had no idea what to expect from this release, seeing as Drifter's Sympathy was in a completely different vein than the Italian/German cinema, Popol Vuh reminiscent prior efforts of Holy Sons. Amos sounded like he had been spending a lot of time holed up listening to Yellow Swans and Boris, and then unleashed one hell of an experimental disc. Criminal's Return mixes elements of the latter album with themes from his earlier records. There are more "songs" on this record than on Drifter's Sympathy, but there is plenty of instrumental and experimental work as well. There is certainly an underlying theme to this album, and it's right there in the title. I haven't seen many concept albums work this masterfully, with the exception of Pink Floyd and Popol Vuh. It could very well be a soundtrack, but you don't need a film when the music is this damn good. Album highlights: "From Now On" (possibly the best song of the year, but I doubt we'll see any Grammy recognition tossed Holy Sons' way), "Fermenting Mind," and "Cruel and Unusual." But who am I kidding - the whole album is a highlight. I would suggest going straight to the source for this one and hop over to Important Records. It's about $6 cheaper over there, plus you can pick up some of Holy Sons' prior efforts there as well. Instant classic album. We look forward to the likely several releases we'll see from Amos in 2010.

a.k.a. Emil Amos of Portland, Oregon band The Grails with his 7th release as Holy Sons. These
are peculiar & unclassifiable, softly curious, exploratory indie rock excursions imbued with a
darkly searching sense of gentle, epic mysticism. A sort of journey composed of meaningful
side trips.