Mika Vainio + Joachim Nordwall – Monstrance
According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, in the Roman Catholic Church, a monstrance is “an open or transparent receptacle in which the consecrated Host is exposed for veneration.” Outside of the Roman Catholic Church, Monstrance is a compact disc by Finnish electronic musician Mika Vaino, whose name sounds like a cross between Mickey Mouse and Keiji Haino, and Joachim Nordwall, a like-minded artist whose last name is not to be confused with a small Arctic whale. Kicking off the album with the perfectly titled “Alloy Ceremony,” Joachim grabs his bass and bakes a big ol’ wedding cake in the form of a slow, low-pitched pulse, accompanied by Mika, who slathers on a hefty helping of Sonic Youth-like behind-the-bridge picking and droning feedback guitar icing. Martha Stewart would be proud–even more so if she rocked out to this in JAIL (again).
“Live at the Chrome Cathedral” is kind of similar to the opening track, except Joachim splays out a massive rocket engine roar as Mika makes his guitar growl and squeal like an injured sea lion in heat. Think Cape Canaveral. “Midas in Reverse” proffers squeaking pipes and heavily reverbed voices that get totally sprayed down with liquid aluminum. “Irkutsk” also references “Alloy” but with reverb knocks and Ebow guitar drones. The highlight of the disc is the pleasant and gorgeous “Phraseodymium,” which meanders in the mines of minimal ambience with more Ebow drones accompanied by super-subtle pinging percussion and doses of low ebbs. “Promethium” ekes out a modest living with a few quiet and sparse guitar squeaks ‘n’ squawks, and “In Sheltering Sanctus of Minerals” closes out the album with a good ol’ organ drone meshed with keening Ebow guitar. After the dust has finally settled, it’s safe to say that this is the perfect blend of Mika and Joachim’s styles, which has, in turn, given birth to some unexpected results. Fans of the aforementioned Keiji Haino and the more adventurous works of the also aforementioned Youth of the Sonic variety will not be disappointed with this little platter.
Label: Touch Catalog Number: TO:88 Format: CD Packaging: Jewel Case Tracks: 7 Total Time: 50:42 Country: United Kingdom Released: 2013 More: Forced Exposure
Text ©2013 Arcane Candy
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