Of course it’s no surprise that the new Religious Knives full-length is good. Like Smuckers, if it says Ecstatic Peace on the label, it has to be good. With that said, The Door is still a nice surprise, considering how different it sounds from Resin released earlier this year (though the latter is a collection of older material and some live renditions).
The most noticeable and significant difference between The Door and Religious Knives’ earlier drone trips is that the band, sometime between then and now, got really funky. This is established in the first few seconds of opening brain burner “Downstairs.” If the low end were of a higher tempo, you could easily lay it against a blaxploitation film score. No foolin’.
It’s a strange funkiness too: serious, fluid bass grooves at a slow, steady tempo reinforce the walls of a Loop-meets-Jackie O Motherfucker gale of hazy, foreboding fuzz squall that remains sparse and powerful. Combined this with smoky pipe organ, crystalline chants, and tribal percussion, and Religious Knives whisk you away on a very gnarly (in a good way) magical mystery tour. Religious Knives have also boosted the vocals in the mix and staved off a lot of the usual reverb. This has been a point of contention among a few of the early reviews for The Door, with some critics writing that the prominent vocals showcase a bored, detached quality. To me, though, Religious Knives’ approach to the vocals on this album help separate them from many other artists firmly planted in psychedelia. By making a stern attempt toward a different method of production, as opposed to liberally applying the typical reverb and pan treatment as most artists who make this type of music tend to do, The Door carves out a very distinct niche and yields a rewarding listening experience.
“The Storm,” despite its name, is one of the more subdued moments on The Door, and one of the best. The group makes brilliant use of space – the wide open chasm between measures provide more of a ominous mood than even the most sinister of minor chords. Shortly after “The Storm,” the volume cranks, dense layers of fuzz poke through, and the tempo is upped for The Door’s closing remarks, “Major Score” and “Decisions Are Made,” providing a sharp contrast to the album’s first half and slinging one more surprise your way. Moody and cavernous, The Door is, seriously, best enjoyed with the lights lowered. I know that sounds corny, but it’s true. I understood the album more profoundly in the dark than the daylight.
Though The Door doesn’t necessarily chart new territory, Religious Knives have demonstrated that they can try new directions without straying too far from the general sonic cathedral they’ve built. It’s a hard balance to strike, and one the group has proven they do well, and as such, Religious Knives are certainly a collective to get excited about whenever they release new material. Hopefully, with their newfound home on Ecstatic Peace, that will be often.
If you like what you hear below, go on and grip The Door directly from the label for an extremely reasonable price.
MP3 :::
Religious Knives – The Storm
Religious Knives – Decisions Are Made
