My attention was snared when I was told that Se Delan’s sound mixed shoegaze and soundscapes to create a sort of haunting film soundtrack but with incredible female vocals over the top from Swedish singer Belinda Kordic. Never mind the fact that the other half of this duo is Justin Greaves, the multi-instrumentalist leader of Crippled Black Phoenix and formerly of seminal sludge metal act Iron Monkey.
There’s nothing sludgy about Se Delan or ‘The Fall’, which leaves any traces of earthiness far below as it ascends skyward in an ethereal haze. ‘Chasing Changes’ has all the swirling atmospherics and breathy, echo-soaked vocal stylings of Slowdive but is bolstered by a harder-edged sound in the percussion department and a sturdy bass that brings different dynamic to the formula. It’s a strong – yet still dreamy – start.
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There’s a sultry vibe to the sleaze-tinged cabaret of the piano-led ‘Tonight’ before the squalling no-wave tribal stomp of ‘The Hunt’ lays waste to any tenderness with an overdriven, percussion-led thumping wall of noise, bringing panic and leaving carnage in its wake.
The curtain closes unexpectedly with the haunting, operatic ‘Lost Never Found’: it’s hard not to be moved by the the sparse piano and strings which accompany a majestic vocal performance.
Se Delan Online
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