Decimus - Decimus 9

Time to rejoice! We've got a new parcel from Holidays Records! They're the connoisseur's choice for boutique experimental music nowadays, don't you know? This time round we've got Pat Murano (No Neck Blues Band, K Salvatore, Malkuth and Key of Shame) dropping 40 minutes of creepy dark electronic ambience on us. Apparently this is part 9 of a mammoth zodiac series he's doing and it's making me feel a bit shivery...totally spooked atmospheres going on here. It's not a million miles away from label-mates Burial Hex, but a bit sparser and more industrial and percussive. On the first side there's washes of metallic mid-top drone and celestial synths peeking out in the quieter bits, and intermittent bass pulses and what sounds like processed, buried vocals with loads of tunnel-like reverb. Flip it and there's the same swelling, undulating dark creepiness going on but this time there's a stuttering distorted bass crackle and spooky Carpenter-esque glassy high notes and subtle twinkles. Both sides sound like the calm, measured breaths of a dormant monster easing back to life and waiting to pounce on fresh prey. If you listen to this on your own too late at night don't say I didn't warn you if it gives you the fear. Even though it's electronic there's an impressively organic feel about these recordings, and this is a shining example of dark ambient music that's actually enjoyable rather than some kind of endurance test. All in the usual mega-sexy and mysterious Holidays packaging, of course.