Released in 2012 on Southern Lord Records
Format: LPx2, etching on D-side
Reviews
Written by Jamie Thomson for The Guardian
Recorded during the same session as last year’s sublime Angels of Darkness I, the followup sees Dylan Carlson‘s Earth take their panoramic instrumentals, heavy on improvisation this time, into uncharted territories. Releasing twin albums a year apart might seem like excessive prevarication, but in the context of Earth’s lugubrious pace, that’s practically a simultaneous release. As with so much of Carlson’s work, these five songs suggest a mournful last dance in the decrepit roadhouse of some faded midwest mining town. But its the little flourishes that make them truly majestic: the droning psyche-folk thrum of His Teeth Did Brightly Shine; the country twang and graceful melodies of A Multiplicity of Doors; and the warm, reverb-heavy funk (and, yes, that’s a word you don’t hear often attached to this four-piece) of the album’s closer, The Rakehell, which brings to mind Lalo Schifrin’s Dirty Harry soundtracks. This is easily the equal of, if not superior to, its illustrious companion.
