Six Organs Of Admittance
Asleep On The Floodpain

Ben Chasny has never composed "simple" music. His mantric musical visions have gathered excellent reviews and enthusiasm, that's for sure, but they've never convinced a large segment of the audience. His artistic creation has always been confined to a small niche of lovers of a folk beyond time and space, contaminated by American tradition, a "desertic" electronica, and a nostalgia-laden fingerpicking.

Due to all the influences inherent in his way of composing and the good performances of the recent "Shelter from the ash" and "Luminous night," there was certain anticipation for "Asleep on the floodplain." The fear (at least from the perspective of the writer) was that Chasny would veer too far from the darkened atmospheres of "Luminous night," partially losing that aura of mystery which fortunately the music of Six Organs Of Admittance has always maintained.

The approach was therefore the cautious one typical of those who don't know what to expect: an ability to install in the listener only those who always manage to surprise, like the "prophet" Ben. Then slowly, the notes of the new SOOA project began to flow, confirming (at least in part) some of my fears.

Assuming that banality is a word unknown to Chasny's repertoire, his latest work might seem banal. That was the impact: to my ears, "Asleep..." sounded all too "simple" and outside the usual standards of SOOA, thus giving the impression of being "banal." Repeated listens ultimately convinced me of the goodness of the latest CD, although far from the splendors of past works. The sweet guitar of "Above a desert I've never seen" and the subsequent "Light of the light" indeed appears too canonical, but becomes a fundamental element of the marriage with Ben's voice, as happens in the latter case. An album that splashes folk everywhere, but it's not that folk loaded with pathos and dark density of "Luminous night": partially missing is also the melancholic charge of "Shelter from the ash." Overall, it appears too sparse, lacking those interlocks within the various pieces that can provide substance to the whole. "Hold but let go" nevertheless manages to convince, standing on the voice of our man, while in "S/word and Leviathan" Chasny lingers too much on shamanic rites, getting lost in dreams too abstract and ultimately tiresome. When he returns to weaving subtle plots with guitar and voice, Chasny reclaims the ancient desert lamentations, as in "Dawn, running home", flowing and atmospheric.

Yet it's not the usual journey of Six Organs Of Admittance: it proceeds in fits and starts between somewhat anonymous pieces ("Saint of fishermen", "Poppies", and "A new name on an old cement bridge") and others more successful. On the whole, however, Chasny's rite seems to lack the usual emotional and spiritual charge. It appears somewhat devoid of substance and less effective than usual.

1. "Above A Desert I've Never Seen" (5:03)
2. "Light Of The Light" (2:49)
3. "Brilliant Blue Sea Between Us" (3:34)  
4. "Saint Of Fishermen" (1:02)
5. "Hold But Let Go" (4:21)
6. "River Of My Youth" (5:35)
7. "Poppies" (1:00)
8. "S/Word And Leviathan" (12:25)
9. "A New Name On An Old Cement Bridge" (2:57)
10. "Dawn, Running Home" (5:04)