Through the Ocean to the Stars

One pairing which I hadn't foreseen is a Lustre / Elderwind split though I've reviewed these acts' work in the recent past. But then Elderwind had at this time of writing only one album to its name and that was a mix of atmospheric black metal and synth-generated nature ambient. Lustre on the other hand has built up a considerable discography though I confess that from what I've heard of this guy's work so far, it doesn't appeal to me much at all.

Lustre leads the way with the two parts to "Follow Us to the Stars" - these are completely synth-dominated instrumental pieces of long droning sounds based around sparse minimalist rhythm loops and are best heard together as though they are one track, which in a way they are. Right from the start the music settles into two opposing camps of repeating swooping drones and pointillist tones, over which other effects such as a pounding background beat or atmospheric wash might add some texture or depth. The second part is as repetitive as the first though in a darker vein.

The whole thing sounds quite mournful though possibly this wasn't Lustre's intention. There's no sense of wonder or anticipation of the glories of the cosmos and the chance to be at one with the universe and know something of its purpose (and by implication, the purpose of humanity and our individual purpose). Both parts are flat in sound and feeling, and with repetition being the only way these tracks try to build up tension and feeling, the music quickly becomes a long tedious affair. The droning lacks subtlety and is very heavy-handed in comparison with the rest of the music which is quite delicate.

Elderwind grabs just over half the split release's playing time with four separate tracks. The difference between Elderwind's side and Lustre's tracks is immediate straight away: the Elderwind tracks are highly atmospheric and seem more attuned to the concept of the split recording, with a sense of awe and wonder at humanity's contact with the infinite. The tracks naturally roll from one into another which enables the momentum and the ambience (and the soothing feelings they generate) to pass smoothly into succeeding tracks without the disruption of abrupt changing repetition loops. The final track "Polaris" suggests some kind of unity or communion is reached with the combination of spiritual organ-like tones, background wave sounds and strange whistle effects that seem to encourage listeners to reach out and contact denizens of the farthest galaxies.

It's clear to me which side is the winner by a long distance: Elderwind hands out a punishing lesson to Lustre on how to create atmospheric space mood music that respects the concept and implications involved in voyaging out to the stars. Both acts proceed from a depressive / atmospheric black metal background which comes with a baggage of existential contemplation of the human condition. Listeners might assume (mistakenly perhaps) that with such a background, bands investigating space travel would bring along a curiosity about how such travel could reflect something back to us about our purpose and place in the universe.

I don't mean to question or criticise Lustre's sincerity or motivation but the pieces produced here are clunky and amateurish compared to Elderwind's contributions, and in all probability fall far short of his ambitions. This split recording could have been something great, a classic of its kind in spacey black metal psychedelia, but as it is, it's very uneven and awkward.