Cindytalk – “Hold Everything Dear” – [Editions Mego]

abacus   11/2/2011   12-inch, A Library

Cindytalk has taken various forms over its 30 year existence. Originally composed of members from the new-wave punk group The Freeze, Cindytalk, led by Gordon Sharp, took a darker, more fractured approach, initially dipping into the realms of post-punk/industrial/dark ambient while recent incarnations have explored the sonic possibilities of digital minimalism, this piece with mystical yet ominous electronic bent metal drones that simmer in charged, rhythmic swells and soak in clanging chimes and bells. Sparse and somber piano interludes throughout provide deeper introspection to complement the threateningly serene soundscapes eerily cracking to reveal the fierce underbelly subterranean decay. Sharp’s sound displays the weary beauty of Fennesz infected by the sonic violence of Jugend in a most grippingly beautiful way.

A giant glowing orb looms over the horizon just beyond a quiet midwestern farming town emanating a deafening glow that freezes rain and blows sheets of piercing wind through the sky. From it a psychic entity reveals to us the reality of our existence as it brightens and sends an earth-shaking roar only to coalesce into a swirl of blood red brilliance and electrical currents broadcasting dark, foreboding predilections. The orb then dissipates and seeps into the sublayers and fringes of our existence, simultaneously crumbling the edges and eating away from the inside in a fury of subterranean decay. All that remains is the shimmering glow of the orb’s radiating brilliance looming unnoticed over the horizon.