A side project of members of Blessure Grave, Soft Kill does bear a resemblance, but one that focuses less on the folk tinged sound of that band and instead emphasizes the more post-punk elements. In some ways, Circle of Trees is a step backwards from their debut An Open Door: The live drums are replaced by a rigid machine and the overall production seems a bit more sparse, but it also gives the record a distinct sound, and along with it a few more uptempo moments than others in their catalog.
Electric Voice, Handmade Birds
For the most part, all of the SK releases I have heard could have been recorded in 1981 and I would not know the difference, and I mean that in the most complimentary way.The dense, yet sharp production that bakes everything in tasteful reverb and gives each drum hit a razor sharp punch feels spiritually derived from Martin Hannett's classic productions in a beautiful way way.
Unlike other artists who are revisiting of this era of music, there is not the same desperate clinging to intense minimalism that all the various "-wave" subgenres are so enmeshed in.Like the best post-punk records, there is a definite sparseness to be heard, but here it works perfectly, like the stiff rhythm and serpentine guitar of "Lost" that obscure the distant, monotone vocals.
The synth heavy "Untitled," complete with electronic drums and theatrical vocals, comes across like Movement-era New Order with a more histrionic singer.Similarly, the intentionally stiff machines of "Vacant Home" definitely sound more 1980s than most of the material on this album, but in a beautifully endearing way, and the song manages to build in intensity as it goes on.
The most drastic variations on here are "Circle of Trees" and "Nine Years," both of which feature uncharacteristically jangly acoustic guitar sounds amidst the other instrumentation.Both because of this and an overall different approach to the songwriting, the result a clearly more up-tempo and lighter feel here, in a way that fits wonderfully.
The album was preceded chronically with a 7" on Handmade Birds that acts nicely as a bridge between the more guitar focused An Open Door and the keyboard heavy Circle of Trees."Current" focuses on a chiming, simple but effective guitar melodies, textural synths, and live drumming in place of a machine that straddles the two full length releases well.
On the flip side, "Seven Hundred" is another faster paced song, but with an appropriate amount of bleakness still present.Slower to develop, but richer because of the extra time, a rudimentary analog synth and echoing guitar is propelled along with a slowly rising rhythm that eventually locks in to a rapid pace. With the pacing and variation of Head on the Door-era Cure but the stripped down instrumentation and mood of Joy Division circa Unknown Pleasures, it is a perfect combination.
It is always hard to evaluate music that is so obviously a tribute to a specific era and genre, but Soft Kill manage to lock on to the timeless elements that formed the foundation of the best post punk records.Like early Factory releases and the proto-goth standard bearers of the early 1980s, it does not sound so specifically rooted in a certain time period as it could have.Someone with no knowledge of SK's influences could hear these records and place them accurately as being recorded within the past few years, but those with a deeper background will surely feel the appropriate tinges of nostalgia.
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