I’ve got a notification from the Bandcamp about Fallen Baby Angel material being just released today, and having nothing particularly important to do, I’ve decided to check it out, because, you know…why not?
So you know, Fallen Baby Angel is an experimental music project from Sweden, all music is done by a person with the abbreviation of IM and that’s none else but my friend Ivar Malm (see the interview with him here), who’s behind a few gorenoise projects, so he has the know-how how to create some interesting stuff..
If you have ever delved into the world of experimental music, you know it might be anything and everything. Therefore, obviously, I haven’t known what to expect, but my adventurous and curious spirit pushed…and wow, what a find it is!
It’s electronic-based, with some noise features, mostly nice and harmonic, but now and then getting a disharmonic vibe, for example, in “severe tunes”, which reminds me a little of my days experimenting with the sound on my old Atari 800XE. Well, obviously, good memories makes for a good experience here!
Opening “darkness infestation in the light” is a nice little welcoming tune, I am probably not wrong to guess the whole album was composed in Fruity Loops and in some moments sounds like a practice session to learn the stuff. But that’s the nature of experimental music, isn’t it? Anyway, the song is good and catchy. Can’t complain.
After the first one usually comes the second track and there’s deviation from the norm here. “androgyn brain” continues the path staked in the first track, and I must admit it sounds even better than the opener. Shit, I should have done stuff like that years ago! Lol, I guess I am not build to be a musician (therfore I am writing reviews, as the old saying goes).
As mentioned above, “severe tunes” plays around with gain and the song is built up on that disturbing gain-distorted sound. Although I have no problem with noise and distortion, after two ear-pleasing tracks this kinda stands out as a sore thumb. But maybe it was meant to be.
I’m saying that, because “philosophy without act” is again a nice noiseless minimalist track, the second longest of this album, the playing with basslines and echoes is welcome, creating a little atmosphere of tension…
…and somewhat continuing into “small depressive thoughts day in day out” with an interesting sampled snare drum sound, although it’s getting kinda repetitive now, especially with the keyboard sound.
“blast of the sun a dark day” is, again, a journey into the harsher and disharmonic soundscape, and – unlike “severe tunes” – it’s more likeable, however, there’s something lacking and I just can’t pinpoint what it is…
And as Ivar hears me complaining about using the same keyboard’s sounds, “looking out in the window for melancholic stimulation” gets a little different, with the high pitched sounds evoking the image of insane Jean-Michel Jarre somewhere in the Oxygene/Equinox era.
The longest track “something is wrong” starts the way I would play piano. Yep, single note strokes, but luckily, with the layer of industrial high pitched sound under. It sounds weird and yes, it’s still simplistic and far away from any form of highly evolved power electronics (if that’s the genre Ivar is aiming for), but even in its simplicity this track is passable – which is a relief, as I am usually suspicious of longer tracks, as many of those tend to bore me to tears. This one is OK though.
Last track of the album is “paralyze program”, again, with the more distorted bassline, 80s sounds kick-drum and oscillator-like main (can I dare to call it melody?) line. But I think the album could do without it, as it basically just repeats the patterns used in the previous track and “something is wrong” could really serve as a nice finish of the album.
Final verdict? Listenable it is, experimental it is. If Fallen Baby Angel is a sign of Ivar’s departure from gorenoise stuff of his past, as a start, it’s not bad, but I am pretty sure he can build upon it to bring out something truly worthy of repeated listening.
Bandcamp: https://pencilwithoutinc.bandcamp.com/album/fallen-baby-angel-drag-light-in-the-darkness-full-album