noemienours' 8th proper LP is definitely the most forward-looking album in the whole noemienours discography so far, taking the "Dry Path" signature sound into a far more progressive post-folk-metal dimension, reminiscent of opera-influenced folk metal, such as Enslaved or late Bathory, but with influences such as Purcell, Rameau, Ornette Coleman, Jan Garbarek and Sami shamanism. Its core sound approach will remind of lofi classic records such as "Burning Kingdom/Wild love" era Smog, "Rural Psychedelia" era FSA and early Burzum but developed into a further post-ontological philosophical perspective defying regular physics to highlight the philautic inconsequence of mainstream anthropocentrism and its failure to formulate itself into any form of consistent scientific concept.
Among the more untamed moments of the album, "The High Neuro-Degenerative Dwarves" resumes where F. Couperin had left us in "The Dry Path" to develop a real harmolodic hit, reminiscent of Jim O'Rourke's cover of "Fast Car" or even Sonic Youth circa "Diamond Sea" in the most unlikely manner; while "The Highly Consultative Role" brings a more laidback finale highlight, pushing Secret Stars-style songwriting to a higher standard of post-bossa nova decreative* helplessness.
The recording of this album was a longer and more arduous process than previous noemienours album, as the noemienours reel-to-reel 8 track showed several signs of health issues that needed repeated servicing during the whole length of the whole recording. Most of the harpsichord, guitar, drums and kantele recordings where made during a very cold winter in Norrbotten with temperatures around -20 to -30 degrees celsius, the final vocals were then recorded in May, as the last snow was melting in the forest, taking advantage of the longest meditative perspective this long winter had to offer. At a conceptual level, the album was initially developed as some sort of critical essay, trying to figure out and overcome the politically-oriented failures of Refused's "The Shape of Punk to Come" in relation with Charles Maurras' "The Future of Intelligence" with a post-ontological perspective highly endebted to Emmanuel Levinas' works, but, of course, replaced in the framework of the raw forest in its evident magical sensitivity.
*
https://fleurmach.com/2016/03/20/simone ... ecreation/