X-Marks The Pedwalk - The Sun, The Cold And My Underwater Fear album flac

I really had not planned to review this album but the more I listened, the more it became apparent that this was going to be my entry for the week. Many other records were beaten out, and even though this is not exactly what I listen to much anymore, Sevren Ni-Arb's new release is an uncompromising one. X Marks The Pedwalk have now been around over twenty years and now have gone through three distinct phases. The first, as we all know, was the rather amusing period where they were referred to quite often as the "European Skinny Puppy". The second began in the mid 90s when they released the classic single Facer and transformed into a techno based outfit which continued until 2010's Inner Zone Journey. There were also the wilderness years of 1999 - 2009 during which they did nothing; Ni-Arb became a family man and retreated from the world of music, this exile ended in 2010 and saw the release of new material which was greeted with near universal acclaim.We now are in the third phase, a new era for this long-standing and venerable group: middle age. Sevren, his wife Estefania and co-conspirator Raive Yarx have crafted a record which reveals the uncertainty of being in ones 40s. Instead of barking out the maximum pace, these three drop the tempo to uncover the doubts they have in life and their own meditative take on where they now are. This quite plainly is an album which was a labor of love to create, it is easily the most experimental and demanding album they have yet done. Musically, it really takes your conceptions of what they're about and turns them upside down. Never before has so much time been given to developing song structures, some of which come together out of seemingly empty surroundings. A casual break, a cunningly placed synth line. The odd whispered word here and there. Lyrically, there's a lot of reflection on years past and while no names are mentioned it doesn't take a terribly wise person to work out what some of these songs are about.Perhaps it isn't such a bad thing to move on and embrace those changes life brings, perhaps the only things which endure are those which cut the deepest. X Marks The Pedwalk have really made something remarkable here and we'd be fools not to look into their menagerie and embrace it; so much soul can be coaxed out of those machines if only a person knows how, if they can summon the saudade we who peruse this kind of work know so well. Such achingly gorgeous tunes and the production is beyond top notch; no cutting corners or demo grade rubbish is to be found here, only an album which feels like the one they should have done when they re-emerged. Trading in the tentative, precarious tone of Inner Zone Journey we're here again in the low lit room while the wind howls outside. Our glass is full and our veins hum with the precision mechanics of a finely tuned artistic endeavor.When I first heard this thing, my initial reaction was to dismiss it as half-baked shards of songs; I am very glad that I took the time to fully investigate what is going on here because something tells me I'm going to be listening to The Sun The Cold and My Underwater Fear for a long time to come. X Marks The Pedwalk have become an extremely moody and introspective band, this isn't the output of a group of screaming imbeciles in make up with ridiculous attention seeking theatrics. No one but them could have done this and my only gripe is that this could have been longer, I play it over and over marveling at it's consistency and cohesion. We've spent some time together, my friends and it is just so wonderful to know you're still out there. Refusing to be bound by styles or sounds, no fads or trends, just the music... which is all that matters.