Monday, January 25, 2010

Chokebore - Black Black (1998)

| Sadcore | Indie Rock | Noise Rock |

Innovators of the then-emerging ‘sadcore’ movement in indie rock in the 1990s, with influences from shoegaze, post-punk and noise rock, Chokebore were (and now IS) one of the most unique and amazing bands from the alternative scene. Their sound is mostly slow, fragile, dissonant and intense, conjuring mostly darker atmospheres and textures. Troy von Balthasar sings channelling his pain and suffering, and the songs irregular and down-tempo structures often reinforce the melancholic feeling. The band is responsible for at least two masterpieces of the 90s indie rock, and Black Black is for sure one of them.

Black Black is the absolute high point in the development of the band, a portrait of the band’s darker side; loneliness, depression, death and sadness being recurring themes. The feeling and power behind this masterpiece is pure and genuine - a perfect combination of strength, subtleness and versatility. The album has a handful of great moments - from the anguished opener, Speed of Sound, to the lonely and hopeless closer, The Rest of Your Evening. Black Black moods shifts from desperately sad songs - Never Feel Sorry Again, Where Is the Assassin?, The Sweetness - and anger-driven howls - Alaska, Every Move a Picture, You Are the Sunshine of My Life -, always keeping the depressive, afflicted and painful atmosphere. On this album, Chokebore goes as deep as any band could possibly go. Suffice it to say, Black Black is a very personal record. This is not only music to listen to, it's something to identify with - something to FEEL.

Catalog: Boomba 008-2 (Boomba Rec)
On Last.fm
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