Raime - Quarter Turns Over A Living Line (CD)

Not one for the office first thing on a Monday maybe - bit bleak and oppressive - but I pinched this disc in order to unpick its dark enigmatic stitches in a more appropriate setting such as my dingy little house. The debut Raime EP took a while to appreciate, it was third single 'Hennail' that erm....nailed it; I realised then that they rely on atmosphere, texture and space more than rhythm or beats. That they've seemingly followed Lancashire's Demdike Stare and fellow Londoner The Haxan Cloak down the pitch-black tech-noir tow-paths leading to the darkside of our minds is something particularly worth noting. Now there's a powerful triple-pronged assault on your senses for these heavy times, eh?

Raime are possibly the most austere and terrifying of the three. This seven track set begins with the muffled loop what could be an assault helicopter searching to destroy a terrified enemy survivor hiding in a cellar overlaid with eerie string drones, whooshing controlled noise explosions and occasional nightmarish scree. It's kinda Godspeed apocalyptic...yeah, heavy shit. 'The Last Foundry' displays parallels with soul-mates Demdike. It's a foreboding chamber-dub thing with a wicked murky flicker and ominous walls of dungeon-dwelling sonics.

The stalking slasher-film theatrics of 'Soil & Colts' also impress greatly. This track employs a sinister echoing patter for a "beat" and layers over this the now familiar creeping acoustics of dread to create another mini-masterpiece of suspense. I'll leave the remainder for you lot to get your teeth into. These two guys truly make lost-soundtrack music for the most unnerving of yet-to-be imagined excursions in celluloid. For some this music may be a little joyless and sinister, for me its an absolute joy. There's always pure beauty to be found in the darkness and this album is bloody ravishing.