Written by Carcassbomb
- Thy Catafalque
- Naiv
- Avant Garde
- Makó, Hungary
- January 24, 2020
- Via Season Of Mist
- 8.7/10
When confronted with the ambiguous genre tag of avant garde I toss aside all expectations because it can either be a complete waste of time or something glorious and I have no way of knowing which way it’s going to go. Naiv is in the latter category, bringing a rejuvenating sound that has an interesting swing to it. It only took the second track to make me fall in love.
There’s so many instruments and vocalists, each with their own distinct tastes that flow across the album fluently, this is the basis of most good avant garde albums. There’s some huge compositions on this album that incorporate a lot of prog/psych rock and OST scoring vibes but there is a subtle metal influence that I find intriguing. There’s slight elements of black metal or post black but repurposed for an entirely different kind of sound. It becomes more overt as the record goes on also pulling from prog metal but still never enters fully into metal, it’s just one more aspect of the music swirling around in this unique madness.
I’m hearing a lot of elements I adore from video game OST’s like Risk Of Rain and Nier, as well as John Carpenter-esque movements that make for easy listening. Big synth wave moods. This album will fly by despite the lengthy tracks, It’s a good album for night walks as there’s a lot of motion and movement present in the compositions. It’s somehow simultaneously energetic and relaxing. On tracks like “Veto” the variety is awe inspiring with what sounds to me like inspirations from anime scores like Ghost In The Shell. As a long time fan of Avant garde and OSTs or scores, there’s a hell of a lot to appreciate here like a pass the parcel of easter eggs and nods.
Thy Catafalque: Bandcamp / Facebook / Twitter
There’s also the aspect of the music the melds the old and the new with inclusion of Hungarian folk melodies in contrast to the sharp metal guitars that chime in. I’m kind of stuck on this one because all I can do to describe Naiv is talk about fusing and melding and combining over and over. On a zoomed out level the overarching idea is consistent and never loses steam, this is some mastermind level shit like Igorrr. It’s compelling and still yields surprise by at the end of the record.
As usual I’m probably misrepresenting an artist who is from a completely different universe from me, all I can do is draw from what I know based on what I hear. The main point is that I really dig this and can recommend it to a wide spectrum of music fans. It’s got a pretty neat album cover too. This is my first time hearing this project so I’ll be doing my due diligence and having a walk backwards through their offerings.
It’s one of those albums where it’s worth buying it just to get it on FLAC (digitally) or on vinyl for maximum sound absorption.
8.7/10
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