EHNAHRE - Old Earth

Ehnahre are approaching their third album: a trio with roots in Boston's avant-rock scene, given that two members (Ryan McGuire and John Carchia) come from Kayo Dot (who have also recorded for John Zorn's Tzadik label), joined here by a skilled drummer of Brazilian origin, one Ricardo Doloso.

“Old Earth”, the brand new album, brings to maturity the kind of post-metal already attempted, without fully succeeding, on the two albums that preceded it – namely “The Man Closing Up” (Sound Devastation, 2008) and “Taming The Cannibals” (Crucial Blast, 2010). The four lengthy tracks on offer here (they could be described as mini-suites), all titled “Old Earth”, explore various territories of extreme music.

The most eclectic is the first, which manages to combine musique concrète with “plunderphonics” (in the track's opening minutes), ranging through post-rock guitar chords reminiscent of Storm & Stress that merge with post-metal and an agonized human voice lurking in the background.

The most abstract piece (and the one that most closely ties back to Kayo Dot's experiments) is the second, dominated by the sound of cello within a distinctly “avant-garde jazz” framework (think Fred Lonberg-Holm's Terminal 4, to give an idea). The closing episodes, on the other hand, are more conventional: the claustrophobic post-core of the third track and the admittedly distinctive brand of evolved grindcore of the fourth and final episode, which also experiments with the “math-rock” of early Don Caballero.

Kudos to the rhythm section, genuinely solid and precise. The style, bold and eclectic as it is, still seems to be a work in progress. Let's wait, then, for their next effort, which could well hold some surprises in store.

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10/08/2012