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Reviews

Yurt — III - Moluskkepokk
(Bandcamp no#, 2016, DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2016-08-12

III - Moluskkepokk Cover art

Yurt is an Irish rock band that specializes in dark textures, mostly instrumental, with lengthy tracks of crushing riffs just slightly too clean to qualify as sludge. When singing is present, the lyrics gleefully examine such topics as pestilence, sickness, conspiracies, and the like. What makes it work and lifts Yurt above legions of drop-D heavy bands are touches like the squirrelly analog synth sounds used in a way reminiscent of Acid Mothers Temple that break up “Ruptured by the Shrapnel” (see what I mean about the cheerful topics?). “Parasitic Cabal” features a strummed bass part that fits together nicely with the multiple guitar parts, and there are some very interesting notes in those guitar parts, straying outside unison lines to hit some extended notes that seem to be based on stacked fifths (just a rough guess — I didn’t get out an instrument and work out the actual notes, but either way it sounds cool). I really like the fact that this super heavy band has chosen to record their music somewhat cleanly, so the crushing guitar tones can really sing and the keyboards have room to add to the spooky atmosphere. And while riffs are a big part of Yurt’s music, there are contrasting sections with chords, and they’re not just simple major and minor voicings. I would include Yurt in the list of dark, noisy bands that have an artistic bent to their loudness, along with Sunn O))), Boris, Master Musicians of Bukkake, and even Hawkwind. Definitely worth a listen for those not afraid of a bit of darkness.

Filed under: New releases, 2016 releases

Related artist(s): Yurt

More info
http://yurt.bandcamp.com/album/yurt-iii-molluskkepokk

 

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