Beautifully Disturbing, As Per Usual
Gnayse is Bola’s darkest album yet. Oh, you may have been carried away softly by Soup, you may have been slightly unsettled by the dark funk on Fyuti (and less so by its jazzier sibling, Voile, released under the “Jello” nom de plume) — but Gnayse is an entirely new beast. Sonically very similar to Fyuti, I was at first somewhat disappointed because it sounded like “more of the same” and not the exciting leap forward that was immediately apparent in Fyuti. Instead of developing his sound more fully, like he did between Soup and Fyuti, he seems to have spent his time since Fyuti giving more depth to his compositions and exploring a somewhat sharper, more urgent edge.
The cover art says it all. Compare 1998’s Soup (even with it’s 2003 rerelease artwork) to 2001’s Fyuti, and you’ll see the cover by Michael England is a dark, yet shimmering manifestation of alien organics, with bulbs and fronds exploding in strange places. Gnayse features more artwork by England, but now you see the dissected remains are dessicated, bony, and seemingly creepier in their barren youth.
The music feels like that, as you may find in the sample track I want to share, Papnwea. It’s a bit longer than what I usually share, but it’s just such a beautifully creepy track, I felt it was the perfect choice. Stick with it, will you?
Posted: December 20th, 2004 under Music.