A Delicious Aural Treasure Trove
Talkdemonic are a modern day folk band, the kind that meld earthy and primal violin howls with electronic beats and clattering noise to form a new vision of nature that suits as much as the old laboured love songs of yesteryear did. You need a little bit of trust on listening to this record for the first time, the frenetic tunes may at first seem too busy or incoherent, but listen to the album as a whole and let the scattered bongos, the twinkling wurlitzer and the vibrant violin wash over you and you'll soon never want to escape from this verdant daydream.
It's hard to pick out particular tunes of note, nor where one tune ends and another begins, but the deep, aching viola of 'Cascade Locks' married with skittering synth beats is just one instance where your attention is thoroughly consumed by the music, as chance would have it this was also the band's debut single. Reedy strings sigh with mournful reverence on 'Bering'; a spiralling, solemn melody.
Each tune flows into the next like a continuous stream of thoughts, suddenly you're awakened by the sound of visceral percussion on, 'Human Till Born' for example, or the delicate piano notes dancing over frantic drum and bass rhythms during, 'Manhattan '81'. The wonder of Talkdemonic's music is that it's open for interpretation, while to one person, 'Verite' may sound like the soundtrack to a much loved one rising to heaven in a film, to another it'll represent a simple sunny afternoon and to each person it has the potential to be deeply personal.
Amidst this treasure trove of tunes nestle sparkling melodies and fuzzy fairytales that will charm you with their instrumental delights that seep into your brain with elegant ease.