ALBUM REVIEW: Orme – Orme
In a world where distractions are everywhere, your attention flits and flickers from one mundane source of technological appeasement to another. Now the challenge that befalls humanity is the ability to concentrate on one thing for more than five minutes. In steps ORME with a monolithic beast of a debut album that will reward you for your patience. Having taken notes from SLEEP’s Dopesmoker, the Hertfordshire trio have constructed two monumental drone songs that take you on an epic sonic journey that will have you transcending the planes of existence. With a deep respect for audiophiles and lovers of the album format, ORME serve up a grand and gargantuan banquet for the senses.
With the goal of creating a single, uninterrupted piece of music that would last the length of a live performance in mind, ORME have not been constrained by time. Both compositions seem to unfurl in slow motion, creating a space and solitude that induces deep reflection in its acidic, psychedelic layers. Deeply meditative and thought provokingly ritualistic, ORME mix together the staple elements of drone and doom with smatterings of hypnotic psychedelia, the still calm of ambient, and the seductive build-ups of post-rock. Ethereal chanting and celestial melodies also weave their way into the fabric of this truly ambitious album.
This album certainly isn’t for the faint of heart; it’s deeply meditative, lucid and vivid. ORME take you on an almighty sonic journey that defies the constraints of time, and in many ways defies written description. The sheer scale, weight and magnitude of the album is borderline crazy but brilliantly ingenious. The wonderful thing about it is that it isn’t an album for convenience, it’s an album that works as a piece of art. ORME invite you to sit with this album, enjoy its many nuances, take it all in and interpret its meaning. The more you look, the more you see.
The philosophy ORME have fervently embraced for the album is that all great art comes to those who wait, just like the brilliantly obtuse novels, experimental arthouse films, the dark majesty of the most pain filled, abstract paintings and the grand architecture of centuries past. Alongside this are passages of spoken word that revel in denouncing the confines and constructs of Christianity, juxtaposing the demonic darkness of their words with the strange psychedelia. This creates an intriguing atmosphere; as you step into the unknown your curiosity has you gripped on every droning passage as you want to find our where it leads. As you get lost in its vast, eerie calmness the continually evolving magic of Tom Clements’ guitar and Jimmy Long’s bass entrances you and welcomes you into their vivid and strange world. Long’s musical skills also extend to didgeridoo, and his low, guttural bass drones add a sub layer to the album that feels primal yet deeply connected to the earth. The minimalism of Luke Thelin’s drums seems instinctive, but they have a real impact on the direction of the songs, driving the push and pull dynamics of both tracks.
Yet, there is also an underlying darkness that gives Nazarene and Onward To Sarnath an edge. While it’s easy to get lost in the meditative nature of the album, you do so with a sense of unease. This is especially so when Clements’ demonic spoken word passages enter the procession of ambient drone. It is almost a Danse Macabre, the sort of thing you feel would be at the beginning of your soul’s journey in purgatory, your fate yet undecided as you do battle with the good and evil inside you.
The first half of the album is the 42-minute monolith Nazarene. This half of the album leans more traditionally into the ambient/drone doom realm. This is where the majority of the album’s spoken word passages are; the dark poetry is quite experimental and won’t be many people’s cup of tea. However, the experimental nature of it is what makes it intriguing. The hulking riffs with slowly shifting psychedelics are underpinned by half time drum beats and washing cymbals. The song builds and builds and builds until you are paid off rather satisfactorily with an all out psychedelic doom frenzy in the last ten minutes. Onward To Sarnath takes on a slightly different tone, darker, brooding and more experimental. The strange sounds that swirl around you create an uneasy vibe, yet this is relieved by guest vocalist Chea Griffin Anker’s intoxicating chants creating a spiritual experience in the middle of the song.
Every band wants to make an impact on a debut and ORME most certainly have with this magnificent musical achievement. This is certainly a labour of love and an album dedicated to hardcore lovers of the album format. Hard to describe in words, Orme has to be experienced to be believed.
Rating: 8/10
Orme is set for release on April 21st via Trepanation Recordings.
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