Album of the day: Harvestman – In a Dark Tongue

Lovingly pinched from Stonerrock.com: If the creative purpose behind Neurosis is a distillation and that of the solo material guitarist / vocalist Steve Von Till releases under his own name is a reverential composition, then the noise-laden drone and effects of Harvestman can really only be a deconstruction.
Though the songs on the second Harvestman outing, In a Dark Tongue, aren’t completely obliterated — elemental, often simple melodies remain in many of the tracks, delivered via acoustic or electric guitar — the rye is well lashed and it is plain to see the experimental vision is the driving force of the project.

Armed with a home studio, The Crow’s Nest, Von Till is free to fill out these songs with multiple layers and sounds, balancing the creation and destruction against each other. Don’t be mistaken, this isn’t outwardly violent music. The closest Harvestman comes to straightforward songwriting is probably the 13-minute ‘By Wind and Sun’,  and though Von Till is joined by what’s essentially a full band behind him, the brand of “heaviness” the song presents is more like a Tee Pee Records-s t y l e psychedelic drone jam than anything as crushing as Neurosis.

Continue reading: StonerRock.com – Harvestman – In a Dark Tongue.

Tags: album of the day, Harvestman, JJ Koczan, Neurosis, Neurot Recordings, steve von till, stonerrock.com

This entry was posted on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 7:02 am and is filed under 2009, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.