1476
Edgar Allan Poe: A Life of Hope & Despair

"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore;
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this and nothing more."
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is and nothing more."
Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you" - here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there and nothing more.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore!"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!" -
Merely this and nothing more.
Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely there is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more."
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not an instant stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore." (...)"

"Edgar Allen Poe: A Life Of Hope & Despair" is the fourth work by 1476 (if we include in this count the demo "A Wolf's Age" and the EP "Smoke in the Sky" and "The Nightside", the latter then reissued in a new version along with the already reviewed "Wildwood"). As the duo explains on their Bandcamp page, it's a sort of soundtrack inspired by Edgar A. Poe, a collection of pieces through which they try to explore different aspects of the troubled life of the American writer. The genre proposed distances itself from what our artists had created up until that moment, although some formulas will be partially revisited in the next work: we are here in ambient territories, the tracks are almost entirely instrumental and centered on the use of the piano, around which a backdrop of synths, samples, and drones unfolds. On the very few occasions where the voice intervenes, it does so in a touching and emotional manner, enhancing an already tense and moving crescendo (see "A Circle is Eternal" in this regard). The result of all this work is an incredibly evocative and emotional fresco, a soundtrack that should be listened to in one sitting, imagining oneself as that raven, with "demon dreaming" eyes, watching the tormented man struggling in the worries of his home, in the dead of night.
As previously written, the music of 1476 exudes odors, and this sensation is repeated even in this case: there's the yellowed paper, the ink, the old books stored in bookshelves swollen with humidity... The air is imbued with the acrid smell of chimney smoke, mingling with that of oil lamps to create an inviting yet simultaneously disquieted atmosphere by the noises of the night stirring outside the windows. The old pendulum clock is the only companion of the protagonist of our painting, along with the burning wood in the fireplace.
"Edgar Allen Poe: A Life Of Hope & Despair" is certainly not an immediate album and requires a suitable environment to be listened to and appreciated. It is contemplative, relaxing, and unsettling at the same time; it pairs well with journeys in the heart of the night or solitary walks, aiding the flow of thoughts and reflecting on the small and great things we experience every day that leave their mark on our skin. 1476 confirms themselves as a duo capable of touching and striking straight to the heart, but (fortunately?) they aren't for everyone: because of their eclecticism, they are often misunderstood, but they are instinctive: if their music grabs your heart from the first listen, it's done; however, if the sad and subdued piano played on this disc doesn't even stir a chord of your soul, well, then leave it be.

NB: The discography of 1476 has been fully revisited by Prophecy Productions, which re-recorded and re-released their various albums with new packaging.