Valium Aggelein
Hier Kommt Die Schwarze Mond

Valium Aggelein. Yes, a truly fitting name. Definitely. Truly relaxing or, to paraphrase a famous song by Judas Priest, capable painkiller(s). Enough with the small talk, just to break the ice, here's some background information. According to what little can be found online, the trio is nothing more than a side project of the members of Duster, a Californian band hovering between space and dream rock atmospheres, marked by predominantly slowcore tempos. Composed of multi-instrumentalists Clay Parton, Canaan Dove Amber, and Jason Albertini, Duster, in five years of career (1996-2001), managed to record three albums for Up Records of Seattle. Unlike the main project from which multiple musical adventures took life over the years (Mohinder, Calm, El Buzzard, The Parton Cooper Planetarium, Mammoth, etc., to name a few), Valium Aggelein was simply a flash in the pan, spurred by the abundance of material composed by the band which, probably, would never have been deemed interesting by Up Records itself. Stimulated by the new musical prospects in sight, the Parton-Amber-Albertini trio produced ‘Dweller on the Threshold' first and ‘Hier Kommt die Schwarze Mond' later, gems of immense beauty and rarity (it's estimated that the latter was released in an extremely limited edition, moreover in vinyl. Here the second mentioned title will be reviewed.

Even before delving into the depths of the proposed sounds, attention is drawn to the use of German, both in the titles of each track and in the album's title itself. It was Albertini himself who opted for the Teutonic language, probably to give the environment a more cryptic tone. Getting back on track, within the first 10 seconds of the title track, one can clearly and distinctly sense what will be discussed. This track unfurls the path the San Diego trio has taken. The main musical line is that of slowcore in the vein of Low, Bluetile Lounge, and company, occasionally presenting different facets to add 'more flavor' to the mix. On the other hand, ‘variety is the spice of life‘ as the Anglo-Saxons say. If tracks like (including the title track) ‘Traum Wissenschaftler' and ‘Geburt zum Tod' stay more 'true to the line' of the dreamy, intimate, and somnambulist typical of the rawest slowcore, ‘Abheben in Stereo', ‘Die Wolken Werden Stufenleitern' and ‘Triumph der Metall Menschen/Durchschauende Meere', in a perfect climax given by the playback order, diverge slightly (while still remaining within the pre-established musical 'enclosure'), shifting attention from ethereal and hyperuranic atmospheres to the feedback and various noises typical of certain avant-garde environments, culminating in micro-tracks exclusively noise of just over a minute ( ‘Feuerprobe/Feuertaufen' and ‘Frequenzumsetzer').

Despite the preference for rather long instrumental compositions (the 'vocals' appear rarely in just a couple of songs), ‘Hier Kommt die Schwarze Mond' is by no means a difficult album to listen to or understand. Quite the contrary. Certainly one will need the right mood and approach to best appreciate these unconventional sounds which, unlike other music, certainly do not lend themselves to being the soundtrack to a wild party or other. I also challenge the listener most rooted in their musical tastes to attempt to listen to it, in its entirety, without 'rejecting' it after just a few minutes. It doesn’t hurt to try. Who knows, maybe it will stir within them something completely unknown that will lead them to a deep reflection on themselves and their surroundings.

In conclusion, for the emotions it aroused in me, a solid 4 to Valium Aggelein is well-deserved.