KTL "2" CD

A continuation of what was began in their first record, released just a few months ago. The music is a companion to a film (i think) that has yet to screen at any US locations, but if it does, i'll be there. KTL is a collaboration between Stephen O'Malley and some other guy who makes noise records for Mego (sorry i don't remember his name but i'm an O'Malley guy anyways.) The first record was supposedely some kind of filtration of black metal ideals into the form of cold, droning noisy soundscapes-the artwork was grey and the whole thing had kind of a faux coldness to it that didn't necessarily translate well into musical form. I recall one stellar track from the first album that actually did seem to come from the nether pools that spawn black metal but otherwise the whole thing was, forgive me, Sunn 0))) people, rather tedious. So curiousity got the better of me and i picked up this new one, expecting more of the same, and i'm very happily surprised. This is a whole different kind of drone spread across four massive tracks, diving into a strnge pool of radiant shimmers and gorgeous glistenings. The high point is the second track, a 27 minute buildup of high guitar whine and electronics that seems like someone is breaking a rainbow into 1000 pieces and shoving the pieces in your ears. It's gorgeous stuff, cut from the cloth of Matthew Bower's Sunroof! project and the always mighty Birchville Cat Motel. I didn;t see this one coming at all-it's a very inviting piece of music and it's pretty damn blissful. The third track goes down a darker path, more or less another 20 minutes of darkened guitar drones but more open and echoey than Sunn 0))). It's good to see O'Malley feeling freed from the confines of the black drone practiced by his main gig and expanding his sonic palette (and really, this is the first project from him where i've ever heard any real or exciting differential.) The final track winds things down with some wind machine style sounds and some lonely melodic guitar lines that wouldn't seem out of place on one of the new records by Earth. All in all a great record that caught me way off guard and just makes me all the more curious about the visual portions it supposedely accompanies.