Jacaszek – Glimmer
November 28th, 2011
Ghostly International
Score: 8.2
It’s almost ironic that the album should be titled Glimmer. It’s moody, dark, eerie, haunting, and everything else that you would sense in the basement of a dark, abandoned house in the dead of night. But the creeps have never been orchestrated so well. As if one were to enter that abandoned home, one would perceive its long faded history, breathe in the dust from off the walls and, worst of all, imagine. I felt as though Jacaszek was narrating a story with his recent release. The tracks pulse steadily and usher in a wave of consistent spookiness, but not to the point that one would scream so much as wonder. I felt as though I was following the lead protagonist’s discovery of why that ancient curse was put upon that dreary house.
But the music is no recycled Hollywood horror trash, it’s deep and utterly moving. Perhaps what I found most intriguing was the instrumentation. I’m a sucker for a well-placed instrument altered by the slightest yet most profound production. Glimmer is graciously produced. ‘Only Not Within Seeing the Sun’ boasts a subtle and tinkering harpsichord and leading plucks of a cello. The constantly fading in and out hum of the distorted buzz adds a haunting touch. It’s just well done. Jacaszek has created a very encapsulating album that leads the listener in and sits us down on an old musty couch amidst the old ruins of an older house.
Jacob Price