Goldenbats anthropomorphize the planet in a sympathetic, guileless manner—it rumbles, thunders and pours, but after all the dramatic geological and atmospheric events, the terrain is carpeted in fresh green grass upon which sweet sunshine smiles down.
[Release page] A private journey shared, from the intimate sphere of friends to the greater fellowship of mankind. Goldenbats never intended this music for general release, but rather as an introspective dialogue of mutual reflection. When it did enter the public domain, its theme was now writ large onto our world itself, arcing from figurative night to daybreak in four movements in a single, fluid twenty-six minute motion. The last of these is titled in Sanskrit, ”कालचक्र”, which appears to mean ”wheel of time.” The first three are named after the stages of the Cenozoic Era—our current geological era, “new life” beginning sixty-five million years ago.
Pathetic fallacy is a literary technique aimed at rousing an emotional response to the natural world by ascribing it human traits—a “cruel” wind, the “brooding” oak—and music is certainly no stranger to the device. The duo of Geoff Duncanson and Dennis Meade play guitar and eBow, ring temple bells, but also use “iPhone, youtube.com, shortwave radio, Apple Sculpture” and plenty of echo. They anthropomorphize the planet in a sympathetic, guileless manner—it rumbles, thunders and pours, but after all the dramatic geological and atmospheric events, the terrain is carpeted in fresh green grass upon which sweet sunshine smiles down.
This brief but poignant album is like mainlining creation and the first two movements in particular contain themes that bring a shudder each time they recur. With boisterous morning birdsong, the world sounds utterly newborn and resilient. This revolving “wheel of time” is bracingly life-affirming.
Goldenbats II is available on Spectropol. [Release page]
