1996 • Red Stream Inc.
Endura was an old dark ambient group from the '90s, an era when the genre was already pretty well-established and ready to branch out, and it's interesting to hear something a little earlier than I'm used to. I don't know if Endura is considered important in the '90s ambient scene or anything, and the genre has come a long way since, but they're still an interesting listen.
One thing that caught me off guard at first is that for dark ambient, it's surprisingly melodic stuff; most tracks have a definite rhythm and melody—even if just a monotonic bass line—around which they're built, setting them apart from the more sound-collage-oriented dark ambient I'm used to. It sounds very '90s, if that makes any sense; sometimes it's not too far from darkwave stuff like Dead Can Dance in parts.
As always, though, the focus is on texture, and Endura do a great job at that. There are plenty of different samples and noises they use to build their atmospheres and they don't go overboard; usually things are kept pretty minimal in order to maintain a dark and isolating atmosphere, and for the most part it works quite well. The use of elements like simple drones, groaning voices, echoing percussion, and the like seems obvious and maybe a bit tired but for this album it is effective (usually, anyway; "The Sun No Longer Sets Me Free" simply sounds cheesy and a bit annoying).
Where the album falls a bit flat is in Endura's decision to incorporate a little bit of neoclassical darkwave into a few tracks, as I mentioned earlier. Sometimes it works out alright, and sometimes it doesn't. Take "The Devils Stars Burn Cold" or "A Golden Heresy": layered synth strings, sung vocals (on the former), well-established and repeating melodies—sure, they'd fit well on a typical darkwave album but I don't know what they're doing here. Coming after the very grim and minimal "The Left Hand of the Dead", "The Devils Stars Burn Cold" feels really out of place, and "A Golden Heresy" also feels simply wrong in closing the album. They're not even bad songs; I'm just confused as to why they're here.
Endura definitely isn't for everyone—not even for your average ambient fan—and it's not something I'm going to want to listen to often, if much at all after this, but it's definitely an interesting release, if only in a historical sense. Then again maybe some darkwave purists will get a kick out of it. Who knows?
Special bonus: The whole album on YouTube!
No comments:
Post a Comment