ALBUM REVIEW: Devotional – The Lord + Petra Haden
THE LORD (aka Southern Lord Recordings co-founder, GOATSNAKE guitarist and SUNN O))) man Greg Anderson) and PETRA HADEN (who as well as being part of THE DECEMBERISTS has worked with everyone from FOO FIGHTERS and WEEZER to Mike Watt and THE GUTTER TWINS) reunite to collaborate on new album Devotional. The pair have previously worked together when Anderson was in GOATSNAKE and Haden guested on vocals and violin on SUNN O)))‘s ØØ Void debut album. With such a rich history in music, it is a joy to hear that they have joined together again on this new album, and Devotional is a thing of joy indeed.
On his debut album as THE LORD, Forest Nocturne, released earlier in the year, Anderson delved into a world soundtracked by a cinematic horror sound and the whole affair was both haunting and enthralling. Now, Devotional sees him finish up a triumphant year with another stunning but completely different sounding record, and one that showcases exactly what a special and talented vocalist Haden is, and how her voice intertwined with the music that Anderson creates.
The album is nothing but mesmerising from start to finish and the title track that starts the album off builds and builds in a captivating manner with Haden‘s spellbinding vocals acting as the perfect foil for the drone and power of the music that Anderson passionately delivers. The comparatively brief but undeniably powerful Rise & Diminish segues into the almost 12-minute long What Lies Behind Us Lies Buried Because It Is Dead, which is the undisputed epic centrepiece of Devotional and is a song that has to be heard to be beloved such is its grandeur as Haden‘s voice soars and her violin playing comes to the fore to create an amazing ambience of the heaviness of the music.
Ma Anand Sheela and Yama add an air of hypnotic mysticism to proceedings and it has to also be noted that liner notes, filled with poetry, of the album are by THE CULT‘s Ian Astbury, an artist whose mysticism and vision are in line with THE LORD and Devotional as a whole. The album concludes perfectly with the trancelike state of heaviness that is The End Of Absence, and as soon as the last notes ring out, it feels like coming out of a dreamlike state in the best possible way, having been taken on a transformative journey.
Having worked together off and on over the past 20 years or so, it is abundantly clear that these two individuals work and create off of each other extremely well and the results throughout are breathtaking. Devotional is a bewitching album and one that sees Anderson and Haden combining to create a hypnotic set of songs that will inspire and transfix in equal measure. Hopefully this won’t be a one off and we can witness THE LORD + PETRA HADEN create more beautifully powerful music together in the future. To see the music on Devotional played in a live setting would be a wondrous thing indeed as these songs would sound life-affirming delivered in the flesh so hopefully that is something that will transpire.
Rating: 8/10
Devotional is set for release on October 21st via Southern Lord Recordings.
Follow THE LORD on Bandcamp and like PETRA HADEN on Facebook.