ALBUM REVIEW: SINNER GET READY – Lingua Ignota
The boundaries of where art should be pushed to are subjective. In fact – whether they exist at all is up for debate. Wherever your own personal comfort level lies though, LINGUA IGNOTA intends to push you past, or at least close to, the edge. Real name Kristin Hayter, few artists in recent memory have been able to manipulate their artistic expressions in such dark, effective ways as the Californian has. 2019’s CALIGULA may well be the heaviest, most harrowing 66 minutes of your life, and there’s not a single blast beat to be heard on it.
New outing SINNER GET READY doesn’t necessarily follow in the same vein. Unapologetically confrontational as it might be, Hayter opts for less transparent anguish this time out. It makes sense for that to be her game plan. Where CALIGULA was a metaphorical, excruciating letter to her abuser – here Hayter questions, berates, and sometimes mocks religious evangelism.
Similar to its predecessor though, SINNER GET READY is performed through the guise of Hayter‘s stunning, leering operatic voice. Her infusion of elegance in darkness never fails to amaze. MAN IS LIKE A SPRING FLOWER spends most of its time sounding like a climactic curtain closer of a horror spectacle, until she bends through the tracks flamenco plucks with dread. REPENT NOW CONFESS NOW follows suit, only this time the double layered vocal circles the mix with more poise. There’s no escape.
Strange as it may sound, SINNER GET READY is not a record that is built to be enjoyed. Instead, it’s more of an experience to encounter. As stunning as Hayter‘s vocal range may be, the gospel choir etches of THE ORDER OF SPIRITUAL VIRGINS are there to pick at your tranquillity. The scratched, pulling effect on MANY HANDS may be the most disconcerting sound of 2021, and the entirety of I WHO BEND THE TALL GRASSES could probably induce sleep paralysis.
With that said, there’s a creative expressionism within SINNER GET READY that cannot be ignored. Rarely has a record with such instrumental minimalism sounded like the equivalent of a Fast & Furious chase scene. THE SACRED LINAMENT OF JUDGMENT dictates a false sense of chaos, when in reality Hayter is joined merely by the occasional string, orchestral effect, and sample of disgraced evangelist Jimmy Swaggart. Even at its most perverse, SINNER GET READY is a beautifully composed ritual.
Where LINGUA IGNOTA has previously been used as a mouthpiece for Hayter‘s heart breaking torment, SINNER GET READY is more conceptual. The emotions it evokes aren’t quite as extreme as those forced from us on CALIGULA (be thankful for that), but this remains a record of huge gravitational pull. It’s another moment for Kristin Hayter that can’t be described, and must be felt. If Quentin Tarantino made a film about the dangers of religious subservience, this album would be its soundtrack.
Rating: 8/10
SINNER GET READY is set for release on August 6th via Sargent House.
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