Review: Caïna – 'Furl'

CAÏNA 

'Furl' 

SELF-RELEASED 

Caïna, AKA Andy Curtis-Brignell has been putting out some great music for nearly a decade now. His fluid sonic formula touching on black metal, shoegaze, ambient-noise, drone, avant garde, post-rock and neofolk always yields fascinating results. Albums such as 'Some People Fall', 'Mourner', Temporary Antennae' and 'Hands That Pluck' show off an aptitude for taking the musical left hand path to creating music that is both haunting and harsh.

Since the last full-length Caïna album, 'Litanies Of Abjection' was released in march, there has been a further release in the form of the 30-minute drone odyssey 'Emitter/Follower'. Now a couple of months down the line the three-track slab of ambient electronic soundscapes that is 'Furl' has been unleashed.

If you primarily know Caïna for the full-length album releases you'll already be aware of the soundtrack-like qualities that often crop up. So the shift to the exclusive use of synths and more free-form construction of the tracks won't be that much of a shock to the system. Nevertheless those who have orientated to the guitar-heavy end of the Caïna spectrum will most likely find this a turn-off.

The tracks featured on 'Furl' – 'memorygrain', 'popmoment' and 'solaflare' – recall the likes of past tracks such as 'Goetic Shadow Cabaret', 'Waves Engulf A Pier', 'Manuscript Found In An Unmarked Grave' and 'Haruspication' in terms of their dark, ritualistic atmosphere and slow pace. However the tracks themselves, even with steady beat on 'solaflare', have a much more liquid flow to them and feel quite polished compared to some of the older examples mentioned.

This is a nice taster for fans of Caïna's ambient side, and it's good to hear the electronics taking centre stage. And although this is very much a “For the fans” kind of release, it will still appeal to those strange people who like to search out good ambient electronica.

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