AMBER ASYLUM "Still Point" CD

Released by Profound Lore jointly with the new one from The Angelic Process comes a record that stands in stark contrast but is no less weighty or, in its own way, heavy. Amber Asylum are a group of female classical instrumentalists who create very stately and austere compositions with one foot firmly in the world of post rock. Their music reminds me a lot of what Mogwai might be if they were all strings and very little cathartic explosion. Amber Asylum are much more interested in setting a mood and in that manner i guess they have another foot placed in the world of ambient/krautrock/drone music (but that association is a bit tenuous-they're really not very droney.) My first exposure to them came from an interest in exploring the work of AA frontwoman Kris Force-after learning she was responisble for pretty much all the string/cello arrangements on Neurosis's "Times of Grace" (one of my favorite records, ever), i decided to check out her band as well. At the time i wasn't quite prepared but i held on the albums, seemingly knowing that further along my own musical evolution i'd open up to them. I'm glad i did. "Still Point" is a haunting, cold record, but not off-putting-there's just a sort of mortuaryesque stillness to the music that evokes a sensation of patience, grace and a tinge of sorrow-or maybe regret would be a better choice. A lot of the songs feature a band style arrangement with drums and guitars here and there (some courtesy Tim Green of the Fucking Champs, who recorded this record at his own Louder Studios!) as well as some very choral-style female vocals, resulting in pretty much what i said earlier-a sound similar to the 'gwai but with less distortion and more classically derived menace. This one is hard for me to describe but i like it a lot, i think Amber Asylum have done a masterful job creating a certain feeling and certain sense-it seems fitting to me that the record artwork/layout is done all in gray, as the music gives one the feeling of being lost in some unending gray dream, where things are cloudy and rain is coming, but you don't when. You might get soaked and you might get chills and it might just kill you, but right now looking up those gray cloudy skies seems comfortable and right.