A second expanded edition of the album Unholy Spirits Light Divine marks the return of Anatomy of the Heads, with this iteration plunging deeper into a concept they call “Tropical Dread.” This Kiribati-based trio reimagines mid-century exotica by subverting lush lounge escapism with the murky engrossment of “Vampiric Ambient and Dungeon Synth.” A darkly impactful ambient sound results, resembling the soundtrack to a lost Dracula film, where he traverses through a swamp or jungle setting instead of remaining within the confines of his castle.
Opening the album with a haunting, cinematic mystique, “Lift Up Thy Chalice for a Thousand Tongues Exalt the Night” pairs melancholic strings with an enveloping soundscape — recalling a stormy chilliness, as the howls of wind and rainfall lingers gently within the orchestral procession. The strings assume a more solemn character in the initial unfolding of the ensuing “Renew Me O Black Imperial Blood,” retaining the same atmospheric world while the string use strut a slight shift, into more subdued intrigue.
Elsewhere, on “A Dirge of Cruel Shadows upon the Midnight Air,” the layers of strings — both a gentle pulsation, and weepy brightness — exude an expressive somberness. The wind sounds heighten in prominence, with subtle artfulness, as the finale “Love Divine, an Immortal Prison of Grief” comes into view — concluding overall into only the pitter-patter of rain and echoing wind, as the strings vanish like a specter in the night. Unholy Spirits Light Divine is a gorgeous, delectably unsettling listening experience from Anatomy of the Heads.
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“Lift Up Thy Chalice for a Thousand Tongues Exalt the Night” is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Obscure Ambient.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
