The Golden Sores - A Peaceable Kingdom [Bloodlust!]

I opened this up when I returned from Europe, I was pretty psyched to see the cover as I had literally seen that painting two days before. Anyway, this isn't an entirely useless anecdote because the vibe from the painting matches the sounds perfectly.
As the title suggests, there's peacefulness to this music but not necessarily in the contented, happy sense. There’s a touch of anguished resignation in the peace, like that lamb which is quietly peaceable, but only as a result of being bound and, as far as I can tell, killed.
Opener, "Double Gyres" is relaxing or maybe even comforting in a way with smooth tones gliding throughout but there's also restlessness present too. A few slightly noisy tones rub against the grain of the track. They don't actually derail the track in any way, but that’s just because the sounds flow around them, the way a river reacts when something is trying to move upstream. It's a simple but effective maneuver, lulling the listener while keeping him on edge. "The Awful Rowing Toward God" doesn’t pull any punches however. Loads of distorted waves splash and swell, creating a fair maelstrom but somehow The Golden Sores keep a sense of calm in the center of it all. A peace in the eye of storm kind of ordeal. After a slow dissolving of feedback, “Klonopin” cautiously takes flight. The piece nearly has a choral quality, despite only a few layers of sound. It’s a little hypnotizing, seeping into you without you really realizing it. The six minutes move by surprisingly fast considering what a leisurely pace the piece moves at. “We’ll Wield Fire” is a sort of midpoint between “Klonopin” and "The Awful Rowing Toward God." A distorted synth wanders alone for some time until a stuttering melody rises nearly consuming the initial synth. The piece is in perpetual forward motion, chugging along building to an unknown climax. Surprisingly, the climax is a pretty, shuffling little melody at the end. Remnants of which carry into the next piece “Ondine,” the most straightforwardly melodic and pretty track here. I think it’s a duet between guitar and keyboard but I can’t be certain; The Golden Sores have a way of melting whatever instruments they use down into pure tones. “A Vision” finishes things off transcendent fashion, with The Golden Sores once more exhibiting their prowess for weaving crystalline drones into captivating compositions.
This CD is worth looking into for the drone-minded legions, The Golden Sores are one of the more mature sounding drone groups I’ve heard if you can make any sense of that statement.
Still available.