#SRCZ Music Review // Agnes Obel – Aventine (Deluxe Edition)
In the part of the word I
currently find myself in, it’s dark and a light breeze floats on down the
avenues like an emotion gone wild. If we were to put a s0undtrack to this
sensation, the beautiful Aventine, from Agnes Obel would certainly work very
well on many levels.
The music on Aventine is
dressed in a cloth so subtle you barely notice the music at first. Evoking dark
nights by the side of a fire, the piano tinged aesthetics of the sound and Obel’s
ethereal vocals converge in the most beautiful way. If you were to put this
album on in the daytime, it would still be beautiful but to get the most out of
the music, a dark but untroubled evening suits it best.
The word haunting is
sometime mistakenly used in reviews, but genuinely isn’t inappropriate when
referencing Aventine. Tracks such as Fuel To Fire tick along with a quiet
intensity that ensures the listener never tunes out. Brooding piano mixes with
cello and strings in a manner reminiscent of some gothic Christmas film that
some maverick producer should surely have made by now.
But it would be unfair to
suggest that the depths of that Autumnal feeling should solely prompt a listen
of this genuinely addictive album. Just like the best pieces of music, said Autumnal
feeling only enhances the emotions and melodies of the album. This reissue adds
an extra disc of material in addition to the first release in 2013, and
includes a David Lynch remix of the aforementioned Fuel To Fire. If you’re familiar
with Lynch’s musical work, (reviewed here and here by this very publication),
then you’ll know of the gloomy soundscapes that colour his work. The mix work
here is minimal but still distinctive enough to add to the atmosphere of the
song effectively.
Other highlights over the
album as a whole include the soul-stabbing icy piano strokes of instrumental
track Tokka, the Ice-Folk of Pass Them By, a song strongly steeped in the
distinctive sound of Scandinavian folk almost distractingly so. Add to that the
stark opening track Chord Left, with the sheer sound of a piano showing how
powerful it can truly be in evoking emotions and images.
Indeed, the album as a
whole is steeped in a distinctly Scandinavian sense of melody and performance,
echoing the sounds and feelings of nature with a natural ease. Of course, this
is no surprise given the artist’s Danish origins, but it goes without saying
that it takes a great amount of talent to make the flesh some out in goose
pimples and the ears prick up simultaneously.
Aventine is available in physical and digital editions via playitagainsam from Oct. 6th.
(C.Agent)
