Search - Witchcraft :: Scattered Areas of Invisibility

Unbelieveable!

09/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"OK - prepare for a shock - whatever you might have been expecting from the second album by this outfit, just forget it. OK - mind cleansed, preconceptions gone, willing to give it a chance, willing to take it in? Good - then we'll begin. Witchcraft have produced a slow-cooking slice of easy-going music that, after exactly three plays from start to finish, gets under your skin and finds a place in your heart. Why three plays? Well, first time round is the surprise factor as you see your preconceptions fall by the wayside; second time is to confirm that it's actually not a bad album at all; and third play is where you REALLY start to enjoy it. Firmly electronic this time, it opens with a sizzling slice of synthesised space-rock, crosses into a cosmic galaxy of sweeping synths and gorgeous subliminal female vocals before travelling into deep space with echoed synth backdrops, rumbling synth bass (a bit like a subdued version of the opening riff of Pink Floyd's 'One Of These Days'), masses of string-like and spacey/flowing synth leads taking up the musical foreground, a brief passed vocal that's more textural than anything, and some very Pink Floyd-like mannerisms throughout, a bit like a decelerated 'On The Run' or the spacey parts of 'Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun', and a fine track, again penetrating your heart and mind to delicious effect. Then, track 4 almost erupts in a blaze of swirling electronics, solid drums, tons of synths roaming around the back, totally unfathomable voice samples all cut-up and messed about, a dark black (as in colour not race) voice giving it a strong Laswell feel. Flowing, weird and strange synthscapes mix with the continually flowing synth backdrops to spellbinding effect, all combining to produce a slice of warm, full-sounding, essentially ambient dub, that would bring a smile to the face of many an Orb fan who still thinks their early space works were the best. Track 5 is just cosmic, eerie space synths, a little over two minutes, while track 6 returns to the ambient rhythms and bass lines over which are piled high, a mass of synth layers, effects, melody lines, backdrops, samples, electronic cascades, multi-textured sounds and more, in a glorious musical cauldron that's heating up nicely - ambient dub as done by prog-synth musicians and they really deliver, this corking track being seven minutes of sheer bliss. Track 7 is a more layered piece, just as full-sounding and with more of a lead role from electric piano-like keys and synths, the, by now, trademark full-sounding, happening mix, more than hooking you in. Finally, track 8 uses spacey synths, NASA voice samples, booming bass synths, cosmic synth textures and no rhythms whatsoever, to round things off with over eleven minutes of truly astounding atmospherics, that's both cold yet emotional.Overall, the shock and delight of the unexpected mixed with a melting pot of styles and what amounts to a whole new refreshing take on ambient music for the serious minded listener rather than the chill-out clubber. Superb."