Band : Arctic Sleep
Album Title : Abysmal Lullabies
Label : Self Release
Distributor : Relapse
Release Date : September 2009
Review : CD

This is the second full length CD by the one man project of Keith D from USA called Arctic Sleep. He is a Illinois based musician who produces sort of atmospheric indie music, flowing through shoegazer and down tempo post stuff. The reason I mention indie music is because certain songs sound like Dinosaur Jr, Swervedriver, Kinski,… but without their drive. The guitars build an atmosphere that is interesting ambient and provoking.  He managed successful to create a real thrilling album, that includes six songs with a running time between 4.38 and 14.23 minutes.

The opening track “Pacific eclipse” builds from a long drone into a mystically beautiful and haunting heavy sludger. “Nightwatch elegy” actually reminds me a bit like Dax Rigs fronting Agalloch or something of that nature. If you like minimalist structures that evolve slowly, creating a field of vision with sound, then you may like this album. “Oblivion” is gentle and warm, still heavy but very psyched-out. Cello  add diversity and atmosphere to the somber sound too.Mostly here are no tempo changes between the songs, so that the listener is surrounded by one big sonic stream

Abysmal Lullabies is a work of intense feeling and guarded intimacy that simply captures the listener.
For actual infos check out the myspace of Arctic Sleep.

90/100

Cosmicmasseur.