Thursday 29 April 2010

Review - Bersarin Quartett - Bersarin Quartett

Bersarin Quartett - Bersarin Quartett

View The Review

9 out of 10

This eponymous album is described as; "11 tracks for 11 movies that have yet to be shot." Quiet yet sumptuous orchestral pieces that bring to mind soft cinematic efforts as opposed to John Williams (You know all those awesome 80’s film themes that you love, yeah, he wrote those) grandness.

Despite the minimal, IDM nature of the majority of tracks on this record, it still has the large layered feel of a classical orchestral piece, as if Beethoven’s Pastoral suites had been set at the end of the world.

Inversion just aches of wide panning shots over a post apocalyptic wasteland, St. Petersburg, the sad longing of someone lost alone in a strange city, then Und Die Welt Steht Still (& The World Stood still) could easily soundtrack the morning someone wakes up to discover everyone but themselves has gone, with its slow rising panic & sparse build up of one simple note, underscored by subtly changing strings. The urgency creeps up on you like the slow dawning realisation you are the only one left.

Each of the 11 tracks, truly are evocative of a moment in film, but my one criticism is that it is 11 different films, I would have loved to have felt a sense of narrative, not just through each track, but running through the whole album.

This tiny bit of lacking is more than made up for by the thoughtful use of instrumentation; it’s incredibly impressive to build such atmosphere with so few notes. The simplicity merely enhances the atmosphere of each piece.

A little while ago I was looking for the perfect music to listen to whilst reading Cormack McCarthy’s "The Road"; I honestly couldn’t find anything that was quite right. However, if I had to sum this record up in one sentence, that’s how I’d describe it: The perfect album to listen to whilst reading "The Road".

Listen: www.myspace.com/bersarinquartett

Tracklist:
1. Oktober
2. Geschicten von Interesse
3. Inversion
4. St. Petersburg
5. Und Die Welt Steht Still
6. Die Dinge sind nie so wie sie sind
7. Nachtblind
8. Es kann nicht ewig Winter sein
9. Endlich am Ziel
10. Mehr als alles andere
11. Was Uns Bleibt

No comments: