Current 93 – Soft Black Stars – VINYL 2LP

Description

Soft Black Stars is one of the more well known and most celebrated albums of Current 93. We believe this is rightly so. While the album differs in instrumentation from other albums, being based almost entirely on interaction between piano and voice, the combination of excellent songwriting and superb lyrics is especially prevalent on Soft Black Stars.

This album proves that the band is not related to the neofolk genre for nothing. Two traditional melodies, “Une Jeune Fillette” and “The Rolling of the Stones”, have been seamlessly incorporated into several of the tracks. The former forms the basis for the sweet lullaby “Soft Black Stars”, while the latter appears in “AntiChrist and Barcodes”, “Moonlight, or Other Dreams, or Other Fields” and the different versions of “Chewing on Shadows”.

Besides these succesful incorporations, the album contains enough compositions of its own, written by David Tibet, Michael Cashmore and Maja Elliott, which might be considered as classics within the Current 93 oeuvre, or indeed within the whole of the neo- and alternative folk genre. “A Gothic Love Song (For N.)” is a stinging dismissal of the superficial aspects of the gothic scene, personified by N., whom we dearly hope is not an actual person. And then there’s the wonderful “Whilst the Night Rejoices Profound and Still”, perhaps more than any other track displaying a deep spiritual layer in both music and lyrics. But all the tracks are a testament to the profound feelings that can be conveyed through deceptively simple music. The extended ambiences of the last track and its bonus versions end this album on a dark, yet peaceful and comtemplative mood.

This is an essential Current 93 album, and if you have never heard of the band, a great one to start with. Another milestone in dark music, and it goes out to you with our most honest blessings.

D.M.K. & O.S.
eveningoflight.nl

Tracklist :

A1 Untitled
A2 Larkspur And Lazarus
A3 A Gothic Love Song
A4 MockingBird
A5 Soft Black Stars
B1 It Is Time, Only Time
B2 AntiChrist And BarCodes
B3 The Signs In The Stars
B4 Whilst The Night Rejoices Profound And Still
B5 Moonlight, Or Other Dreams, Or Other Fields
B6 Judas As Black Moth
C1 Chewing On Shadows I
D1 Chewing On Shadows II
D2 Chewing On Shadows III