A Sweeping Curve of Sound

The Portugal-based darkwave label Equilibrium Music has two new releases out that should please fans of Dead Can Dance’s darkly-tinged tribal sounds, and the neoclassical gloom of Sopor Aeternus. The first is “The Garden of the Hesperides”, by the Italian band Hexperos. Evoking a haunting mix of chamber music and electronic textures, the songs are made sublime by the clear, strong, soprano of vocalist Alessandra Santovito (from the band Gothica). Stand-out tracks include the gentle, soaring grace of “Hesperos”, and the moonlight-fueled, trance-inducing, “Ritual”. As their web site claims, this is music of “love and mystery”, and it is a strong debut album that promises even greater things in the future.

Hexperos

Download: Hexperos - “Hesperos”
(from the album “The Garden of the Hesperides”)

Links: Hexperos on Myspace

The second band making its debut is the German/Dutch duo Poets to their Beloved with their album “Embrace the Fool”. While Hexperos is decidedly influenced by Dead Can Dance, PttB can claim that Dead Can Dance brought them together as a music project. The two members, Saskia and Marcel, met and fell in love at a workshop held by Brendan Perry in Ireland. This fateful melding in Perry’s presence must have rubbed off, because some of the best tracks on “Embrace the Fool” seem positively haunted by the singer-songwriter’s guitar-sound and vocal preferences. Not that this is a bad thing, tracks like “Ecstatic Dance” and “Embrace the Fool” are well-executed and benefit from their influences. PttB would make an ideal opening act should Dead Can Dance ever do another reunion tour, it will be interesting to see where they go from here.

Poets to their Beloved

Download: Poets to their Beloved - “Ecstatic Dance (clip)”
(from the album “Embrace the Fool”)

Links: Poets to their Beloved on MySpace

You can hear tracks from both of these bands on my latest “A Darker Shade of Pagan” podcast.