The Black Heart Procession - Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit

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4...according to our Business Lady on Thu 14 Oct, 2010.

Haven't really been keeping up with BHP's progress over the past few years. I saw them play a while back and really enjoyed the morbid display of rock minimalism. Nowadays they seem to have perked up a little and even enjoy a bit of the old remix treatment. So, here we have a kinda mini-album EP thing with three BHP originals interspersed with remixes from Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Mr. Tube (this is BHP man Pall Jenkins making two appearances) Eluvium and Samuel Saxon all compiled into one fantastic 40 minute mega-mix. Opener 'Blank Page' is probably the best track I can recall ever hearing by the band. It's a syncopated kraut rock wet dream with super tight, super savvy beats and colourful instrumentation. It also benefits from a restrained vocal delivery of ohhs and ahhs as opposed to full on lyrics. 'The Orchid' hits familiar minimalist noir territory with it's mix of wailing vocals and doom ridden grand piano but things soon take a turn for the strange once the remixes kick in. Mr. Tube takes a semi industrialist approach whilst adding left field, quirky bits. Lee Perry kicks it eccentric style, adding backward banter that makes as much sense as you'd expect but it's Eluvium who goes the distance reshaping 'Drugs' into a ten minute epic trance-off. It comes as no surprise that this is good quality stuff but it deserves extra props for attention to detail and variety....props indeed.

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Mini-album features 8 brand new exclusive tracks in 40 minutes , Features remixes by LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY, ELUVIUM and more. RIYL: TOM WAITS, LEONARD COHEN, LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY, ELUVIUM, THREE MILE PILOT. When The Black Heart Procession broke their three-year silence with last year’s critically-lauded comeback, Six, it showcased the iconic band born from the self-imposed hiatus of Three Mile Pilot returning to its roots, crafting the kind of minimalist noir ballads that made them so beloved in the first place. Returning to its core duo of Pall Jenkins and Tobias Nathaniel for the making of Six proved to be just the burst of inspiration the group needed. With fewer cooks in the kitchen, the two could explore the farthest reaches of their creative impulses like never before. Befitting of The Black Heart Procession, Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit takes the experimentation hinted at on Six and expands upon it in bizarre and brilliant ways. Centered around three stunning new songs, the collection is arranged and mixed as one continuous composition, sounding every bit like an LSD-influenced DJ set in the kind of terrifying but strangely alluring vampire sex den commonly seen in True Blood. It’s the ideal atmosphere for The Black Heart Procession, where they feel most comfortable and sound most in control. The set is rounded out by a series of remixes, most notably the eccentric freak-out “Freeze” by legendary dub pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry and ambient electronic luminary Eluvium’s 10-minute orchestral reconstruction of the solitary piano ballad “Drugs”. Jenkins remixes a couple of tunes himself under the guise of Mr. Tube, and San Diego electronic producers Jamuel Saxon close the album with an unlikely downtempo dance reworking of “Drugs” that transforms the song’s morose lyrics into a meditative, almost hopeful trance. If Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit was supposed to be a stop-gap between albums, no one seems to have told the band as much. It is easily one of The Black Heart Procession’s more compelling and intriguing releases of their extensive and impressive catalog.

Tracklisting:

1. Blank Page (5:30), 2. The Orchid (2:50), 3. Silence (Remix by Mr. Tube) (3:08), 4. Devotion (5:17), 5. Freeze (Remix by Lee ”Scratch” Perry (3:41), 6. Heaven Below (Remix by Mr. Tube) (3:02), 7. Drugs (Remix by Eluvium) (9:36), 8. Drugs (Remix by Jamuel Saxon) (4:14)

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