Acclaimed saxophonist, multireedist and composer Colin Stetson returns with a brand new studio album recorded in a 144 year old former metalworks over the space of a week.
Above you will see descriptions of Colin Stetson. You will see words like saxophonist or composer, words that are factually true of course but no descriptive can be powerful enough to truly describe what Stetson does. This means that writing about it can feel often futile or insufficient because the world that Stetson creates is one of full physical entanglement. It is a music that dances and anchors in equal measure and it is a music that connects your stomach with your feet and with your soul. Seeing Colin live makes this sensation manifest, however how he can still manage to have the impact he does via recorded…contained…completed audio is a true gift of magick and like all illusions and other spiritual occurrences, it is better that we don’t know how it is done and instead just swim within its black velvet borders.
Throughout his career, Stetson has showcased a number of sources of inspiration whether that be Doom Metal, film scores or Jazz and whilst the opening few seconds of the title track which opens the album feels like a step into his horror cinema compositions it soon becomes apparent that what we are hearing is Stetson’s first true retelling of the electronic music story. Scattered throughout we have numerous peaks and troughs, rhythmic percussive propulsion and synth-mirroring melodies and oh what melodies they are. This album contains so many beautiful melodies that your brain will be remembering different ones from one day to the next and you will be internally humming them as you go about your day and of course where there is great melody there is great emotion. The love it took to leave you is tear inducing in its emotional range and clout. You can be crying tears of joy as you fly skywards on the fluttering melodies of Malediction or you can be crying under the heavy weight of To think we knew from fear and the whole album allows you enough space for you to pain your own emotions onto it so it can be the guide, the support, the crutch that you need for any specific time….. like truly great electronic music.
Via the piece’s well-crafted arrangements, Stetson tells you outlines of stories whilst never overstepping the mark and blocking out your own internal narrative. This is made clear when we hear the wordless, human howl that appears throughout the album. Whatever emotional state you are in when you hear it is what it will reflect back to you. It can sometimes sound like the healing call of a loved one but then transform into a subversive, luring call of a siren.
Another element of electronic music that is audible is contained within the album’s greatest piece, Strike your forge and grin. This piece is a 21+ minute long epic that builds, twists and contorts like an unholy union of Jeff Mills and Swans. The piece has various sections with the transitions between the segments seamless and poetic. Nothing jars or feels tagged on throughout and every section and every noise has earned its place within the finished track. Strike your forge and grin is Stetson’s masterpiece. It is a tour-de-force of arrangement, technique, heart and intelligence and encapsulates everything that is good about this album.
The love it took to leave you is the one. It is the album where all of Colin Stetson’s career has been heading. It is an album that manages to showcase all that he has done before whilst also forging new territory and it is the album where Stetson’s relentless pursuit of transcendence truly gets captured…like lightning in a bottle.
Colin Stetson socials: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | X
Review by Simon Tucker
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Release Date: 13/09/2024
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