Artist: Pitch Black
Title: Third Light
Label: Dubmission
Records
Released: 13th
September 2019
One of New Zealand’s
hottest exports return with eight tracks of sonic pleasure to push
through your speakers and into your lugholes. Following on from the
recent single and teaser for this album ‘Artificial Intolerance’
and a pre-cursor to their tour.
We get underway with
‘The Silver World’ where a melodic loop leads into a crisp static
atmosphere and dubby chords, this is soon followed by indistinct
vocal snippets and piano notes that add an element of beauty. If I’m
honest this is a tad unexpected and throws me in mind somewhat of
Massive Attack. All I can say is what a start! I’m in no way
disappointed with where they take us next on ‘One Ton Skank’ the
slow paced piano chords in the intro add a darker feel and again the
vocals are indistinct. Then when they drop the looped sequencer, woah
another winner.
By this point we
reach the title track ‘Third Light’ which is atmospheric and
gritty with crisp drum patterns that leads to the stereotypical
reggae chords intertwined with fx and harmonic looped sequences that
just lift and drop the piece in all the appropriate places. This is
followed by the bleepy intro of the aforementioned single ‘Artificial
Intolerance’ which if you haven’t heard by now takes you on a
slow paced atmospheric journey through the light and the dark, that
is until stuttering electronics and drum and bass completes the
excursion in the latter third of the track.
We then move on to
‘Daylight Wasting’ a twitchy piece of electronic dub with lush
waves of warm synths and harmonic tones that lovingly drift into
those dubby echoes. Whilst ‘The Lake Within’ again employs those
piano keys in an almost dubbed out jazz fashion that still manages to
maintain the atmosphere created throughout the album.
There’s a slightly
dark feeling to the intro of ‘A Doubtful Sound’ with a slow
plodding beat and really apt spoken words, before it switches to a
growling dnb fusion and I’m sold. To see us out ‘Did you get the
Message’ re-affirms the piano notes enveloped in atmospheric synths
and field recordings of waves and nature. Just like the opener this
closer is another piece of beauty.
Reviewed by Woodzee
Links
Catch them live
17/10:
Neck
of the Woods, Auckland
19/10: White Night, Napier
24/10: San Fran, Wellington
25/10: Church Steps, Nelson
07/11: Sebright Arms, London
08/11: Sebright Arms, London
09/11: Être Révélé, Paris
10/11: OCCII, Amsterdam with Uncle Fester on Acid and Ramses
13/11: Crofters Rights, Bristol
14/11: 23 Bath St, Frome
15/11: The Tin, Coventry with dr trippy and 100th Monkey
16/11: Panke, Berlin with qnp and Bill Robin
19/10: White Night, Napier
24/10: San Fran, Wellington
25/10: Church Steps, Nelson
07/11: Sebright Arms, London
08/11: Sebright Arms, London
09/11: Être Révélé, Paris
10/11: OCCII, Amsterdam with Uncle Fester on Acid and Ramses
13/11: Crofters Rights, Bristol
14/11: 23 Bath St, Frome
15/11: The Tin, Coventry with dr trippy and 100th Monkey
16/11: Panke, Berlin with qnp and Bill Robin
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