Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II
Buoyant, but lacking dynamics that made last year’s album instantly spine chilling
(Southern Lord)
The follow up to last year’s Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I surveys the same improvised and stripped down hinterlands of its predecessor, reviving their string section in favour of the amplified nature of their previous releases. It’s an obvious continuation, but as opposed to the immediate moodiness of I, there’s a wider space to embellish a subtle sense of groove and intricacy, as heard on the album’s tremendous closing opus ‘The Rakehell’.
Despite this buoyant and pastoral approach, II still lacks the dynamics that made certain tracks from last year’s album instantly spine chilling, in both the live and recorded environs. It’s a logical step in terms of the Earth catalogue and it will no doubt please acolytes and curious listeners alike, but it’ll be interesting to see how Dylan and co follow on from this – because, at this rate, they could be in danger of stagnating.