CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX “Banefyre”
By Octopi Mills
The album artwork sees what is, perhaps, mostly rodents on the cover in what could be a vintage painting or print. Lo and behold, it seems that that old buggery boogerbear Shane Bugbee has helped with the intro, and if you do not know of this old bugbear then you will probably be better for it. Reaching for stranger stars yet remaining quite safe, the album has a near pop appeal that will not sit well for me; the melodies, use of vocals, that sort of thing that made ULVER have the scent of a wintergreen urinal cake. Liberal use of keys makes this a fun sort of affair like a gumball machine of muted colors and lends a certain drifter vibe perfect for today's PC culture.
The write up for the promotion is also fun and lighthearted using lots of words and what have you. Many songs go off into lengthy places, overstaying their welcoming genius and making for a transit sort of setting; tube trains, public transportation systems where mankind interacts through phone screens. There are some moments that make me feel something and can only be destroyed by the true nature of the structures; Electronica, shoe gazing...things like this, you see. The long running time may be real or perhaps imagined but it seems to carry a jet lag or like one has a leaden foot, and I reckon it has to be a trap that has been sprung upon my poor mind here as I fail to feel any sort of affinity to the music, concepts or anything except for the album art. There comes a feeling that I compare to jumping out of a speeding train to escape and though I have never done this I know what it would be like to do the very thing. To ruin one's mood is an unforgivable affair and I blame Season of Mist for this. I don't know exactly how this label chooses their artists, but it is a curious thought, for sure. It would be one thing if it was artificial intelligence behind all of this but somewhere there is a person responsible for this.