CD Reviews: Chvad SB’s “Crickets Were The Compass” + “Gut: Original Motion Picture Score”
For the first time in the history of the Horror Movie Diary, I got the chance to review some music! NY-based artist Chvad SB got in contact with me because I praised the music he composed for Elias’ awesome indie shocker “Gut” (see here!), and thought I might be interested in his latest album.

Did I like it? Well, I did, though it’s something completely different and has nothing to do with the “Gut” score. “Crickets Were The Compass” is an unbelievably bizarre piece of art, consisting of six abstract instrumentals, somewhere between Sunn O))), Isis, (maybe) Ulver and other drone / doom / post-rock / post-metal stuff.

CRICKETS WERE THE COMPASS – CHVAD SB
1. It Haunts Her (7:05)
2. A Hair Before Sundown (4:30)
3. The Dust Cloud Permeates (14.26)
4. People Keep Asking And I Say You’re Well (9:31)
5. There Isn’t A Day That Goes By (6:26)
6. Crickets Were The Compass And The World Goes ‘Round (12:22)

It’s not an easy record and the majority of music-lovers out there probably won’t like it. There’s nothing catchy or earworm-like on this album. It’s all grotesque and eerie, quite dark, slightly dissonant, pretty unsettling and in some kinda way completely fucked up. Imagine Scott Walker sitting in an abandoned building somewhere in a littered desert, going completely insane while trying to compose a new soundtrack for “Eraserhead” or “Begotten”. That’s how it sounds, that’s how it feels to me.

The first couple of listenings were tough because I couldn’t do much with it, but then after the 7th or 8th time, I finally ‘understood’ the record, ‘understood’ how to properly listen to it. It’s impossible to listen to it during the day. “Crickets Were The Compass” needs the night and the darkness, 1-2 candles and headphones. There’s huge amounts of creepy static-like sounds and droning bass lines, there’s uncanny guitar howling and peculiar electronic hickups, there’s bleeps, there’s blonks and there’s mad musical contortions. It’s a real treat for insane ears like mine :)

“The Dust Cloud…” is too long and a bit too tedious, but the other tracks are all very fine, especially the magnificently atmospheric title track and the mesmerising “There Isn’t A Day…” that somehow manages to cast a powerful spell over me. If you’re a patient listener, and if you’re into one of the above-mentioned sub-genres, you really need to check out “Crickets Were The Compass”, a fascinating album that grows and grows and grows.

Rating – 8/10

Review by; Maynard

Review originally published here:
http://www.horrormoviediary.net/2014/05/cd-reviews-chvad-sbs-crickets-were.html