artist: Vlimmer
title: lll/llll (Limited Edition Box)
keywords: ambient berlin electronic alexander leonard donat darkwave drone gothic indie noise post-punk post-rock shoegaze synthpop synthwave wave Königs Wusterhausen
label: Blackjack Illuminist Records
Are you happy and ready to be sad? Is everything dark and it always seems to rain outside and you are simply loving it? This album will please your obviously serious and deep thoughts and emotional emotions, like a loaf of garlic to anyone afraid of vampires. Expect no laughing material over here, but white powdered faces and finger nails as black as coal in music form.
The first track on this album is one named ‘Erschöpfung’ and gives the music impression of an angelic elephant stepping brilliantly through the soft comfort of the clouds set by synthesizers and the voice of a hymning singer who does his melodramatic dream performance in a kind that swings from pretty to emotional tones. Don’t talk about what the lyrics are about, just hope it is indeed about a spiritual elephant who elegantly steps into the other side.
Then there is ‘Rückspiegel’ that seems to insert a little rougher sound on the edge to keep the fire of emotions burning. Here the focus seems to be on arousing the ears with these melodies that on a right occasion might trigger a stream of lonely tears.
Grenzbereich has the rock beat with stimulating steamy train vibe to feel in the middle of free revelation and being trapped in the industrial clouds left behind in a haunting railway tunnels. The music along with the voice is one stream of traveling smoke that gets the speed going while effectively streaming through the scene.
More German lyrics can be heard in
Finsterblindheit & they are not alone as there is music too. It sounds to be honest all very sad, lonely and a bit depressed. If you need pictures, I would think of rainfall, dark alleys & the feeling of loneliness.
It is here that the album gets this serious vibe of seriousness. The track named ‘Drohn’ isn’t one to be all smiles and laughs as well, perhaps more suitable for a frail sick and twisted death smile of someone walking the darkness with a dark cloudy mind. It’s heavy music, yet not sounding heavy in its production; injecting itself straight in to a listeners heart and feelings.
Getting to ‘Antäuschung’ and the dramatic tones have a little petite sound of some positivity shining through. It’s a bleak light, perhaps softened and damped by some illustrious filter but yet you can feel that there is a sign of hope in here. Not everything is completely doomed and in the shitter of downfall… Or maybe it is?
I guess our clown noses can seriously be kept locked away as the next track ‘Wärmebeben’ isn’t the most happiest material around. There is a bit of fun though as the bright melody in the middle passages is sweetly freaked with, creating some nice sense of look; we aren’t all that serious.. Which is nice to know as the rest of the vibe is as serious sounding as the gallows up a hill.
A nice rhythm gets the horror treatment through adding dramatic synth tones and the prominent sensible vampire voice in ‘Minenslalom’. It sets a scene of deep thoughts, romantic gothic scenes and general dreadful thoughts. Musically it is pretty, and that could also be said about ‘Neuplatzierung’ which has melodramatic melodies & production value to simply die for. It’s strange to say for a obviously goth friendly album but this track is absolutely beautiful.
The last track is ‘Knochenbruch’ which feels like the perfect soundtrack to lift ourself from our upside down hanging onto the ceiling position, open and flap our wings and go for a gory flight through the dark nights in order to find a virgins neck to suck. https://blackjackilluministrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lll-llll-limited-edition-box
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Yeah I Know It Sucks 