Mamiffer - "Mare Decendrii" (2011) [SIGE Records]

You ever get that feeling when you listen to something new where you wish it would never end? Well, I would be content only listening to avant-classical/folk/drone powerhouse Mamiffer's sophomore full-length Mare Decendrii. If you won't take my word for it, take a look at the lineup: Mamiffer mainstay and chief songwriter Faith Coloccia teamed up with her husband Aaron Turner (yes, of ISIS/House of Low Culture/Old Man Gloom/et cetera fame), modern composer Eyvind Kang (you might recognize him for his solo work, but also his lush orchestral arrangements on Sunn O)))'s Monoliths and Dimensions), some more familiar names (Jessika Kinney, Randall Dunn, Joe Preston and more!), and some perhaps unfamiliar to her normal crowd (Jussi Lehtisalo, Mika Ratto, Parvaneh Daneshvar, and more, yet again) for the creation of this monolithic album.

Taking cues from both contemporary classical's almost pop-like melodic sensibilities with droning far-eastern Indian classical music (both Carnatic and Hindustani for all you music nerds) and sense of space (and maybe a hint of Aaron's droning, metallic past), Faith truly has created something special and memorable with this album. Equal parts George Crumb, Pandit Pran Nath, Enkh Jargal, Clint Mansell, Brian Eno, and something that resides solely within Faith herself, Mamiffer's lush, organic presence is unparalleled in the current music scene.  Lasting an hour stretched over 5 tracks ranging from five-and-a-half minutes long to the epic 20-minute "We Speak In The Dark," Mare Decendrii ebbs and flows through sections of modern classical music, periods of overtone singing and far-eastern-meets-Finnish chant, and what some people might call "post-rock," with an undeniable sense of ease and compositional mastery on behalf of Ms. Coloccia (and the Mare Decendrii crew). Mare Decendrii is a labor of love; a deep insight into Faith Coloccia's philosophies on life, music, existence, and the nature of the world itself.

This entire album is an ethereal, otherworldly journey through distant lands, physical, Earthly or not. By far one of, if not the most impressive release I've heard in the past few years.

Tension and release; like breathing.

-Jon