001 - Calavera Love - E m p r e s s

Nostalgia, descent into darkness, nothingness, sombre reflection, acceptance, release... a high level view of the album in six phrases. On E m p r e s s, Calavera Love drags the listener through what seems to be a story of loss; loss of childhood innocence? Loss of a loved one? Loss of your own self? That is never defined and maybe shouldn't be... whatever that one thing is, its given name is E m p r e s s.


On an objective level, E m p r e s s is a purely ambient album with minimalistic melodies when they are present at all. The compositions consist primarily of layered soundscapes created with an Access Virus C synth and an Akai S1100 sampler, sequenced from Ableton. A Tascam Portastudio was also used for recording to tape and slowing down the recording. There is little to no structure to the compositions and even less of a discernible meter. The album is an excellent, listen either actively or passively--a rare quality.


Moving away from sterile descriptions, the album feels like just that: an album. Best listened to from beginning to end, Calavera takes the listener on a journey. That journey is intensely personal and is relatable to anyone who has ever found themselves in a dark place. What follows is my interpretation of events, you as another listener may walk away with an entirely different experience.


A chime sounds calling us into the album. Something about it just isn't right, is this reality or something else? As the chime fades, the track slowly morphs away from anything that is rooted in reality. The entire title track feels like a passing from the physical plane to an ethereal one. Feelings of nostalgia saturate the sound of the title track leading me to wonder, who or what this empress is and what is lost by her passing?


The warm and comforting sounds from e m p r e s s continue into the first half of empire to burn, but there are subtle hints that something darker lurks beneath the surface. As the track progresses this unease begins to take a stronger hold on the melodies, ultimately snuffing out any of the nostalgia and warmth that we began with. Just as the title track moved us from the physical plane to a ghostly one, empire to burn moves us from a place of comfort to one of great trepidation and uncertainty. By the closing passage there is nothing but the distorted tones of rainfall and static with a bleak reality before us.


That reality unfolds in s u b l i m i n a l. The static fades as synth pads and minimal melodies take us into a much darker place than any we have been previously on this journey. Unlike the previous two tracks there is no overarching transition to be found on this track, it ends as it begins: same minimal melodies, same feeling of isolation, same feeling of nothingness. For being so minimal, Calavera's ability to evoke such strong feelings is very well executed here. This is one of the highlights of the album for me.


FRACTALS continues right down the dark path that subliminal started us on, though we do see some progression in the composition of the track. The minimalism of s u b l i m i n a l is retained in the overarching structure of the song, however it is layered in a way that brings a hugely enriching wall of sound by the time the six minutes expire. It reminds me of a period of reflection just in musical form: taking a simple idea and building upon it until it's fully realized.


At this point the movements of the album are constructed in pairs. The first pair being a sense of nostalgia and wonder, the second retaining a sense of loneliness and reflection. The third movement beings with wormhole and it renews the listener’s journey back to the light. A crescendo of hope starts with a soft synth pad that slowly swells into a melody enveloped in a gentle cloud of sound. It silently leads us into the closing track, where the listener is finally gifted with hope.


Hope is something that has not been showcased yet in this album. Your face is the realization of a journey of having gone through the dark night of the soul and returning to find oneself stronger for overcoming it. This is a truly beautiful composition and it's one of the best closing tracks that I have heard in quite some time. The empress has returned.


While I typically dislike track by track reviews, I feel this album warrants it as each composition is part of the larger whole. Calavera describes each track as the chapter of a story. What that story ultimately ends up being will differ with each listener. Personally, I can say this is a masterfully written album and is easily going to have a place in my top albums of 2020.


Acknowledgements


A huge thanks to Calavera Love for providing me details on the recording process and some of the background. Additional thanks to ExMemory for helping me with some of the musical technicalities and Blissmonkey for editing and promotion.