It’s an infrequent occurrence when we stray from cinema in our reviews but every once and a while we do -and there’s a method to our madness.  Chvad SB is the musician behind the score for Gut [review here], his LP Crickets Were The Compass has just been released and is available through Silber Records.

The opening track, It Haunts Here, builds like the recollection of an air-raid siren in a dream.  It draws the listener in to an uncertain frame of mind that’s incredibly rich.  From there A Hair Before Sundown takes a jagged edged turn that invites an emotional response that tugs at the listener and drags them between invasion and illusion, fantasy and frenzy as Chvad builds the atmosphere that the entire aesthetic of the LP is built upon.  The Dust Permeates is very much the tour de force of Crickets Were The Compass.  At 14 minutes in length it demonstrates the artistic leanings of its creator and the same sort of creative ingenuity that Radiohead’s Kid A showcased when it was first released.  People Keep Asking And I Say […] may sound as though it’s influenced by Bob Dylan (if you judge books by covers and songs by titles) but in the hands of Chvad SB it has the trickling relief of consciousness as it emerges from the dark, almost Weimarian landscape of dream…nay, nightmare.

Crickets Were The Compass is a provocative, challenging, cinematic LP.  It creates a strong, darkly dystopic narrative that is as heavenly as it is haunting.  A powerful offering from a hugely talented artist.

Review by; David Louden

Review originally published here:
http://www.knifedinvenice.com/2014/06/crickets-were-compass-by-chvad-sb.html?spref=tw&m=1