Northern Irish band Abbotoir offers a form of funeral far from any winking form of melody, and this, of course, does not increase its appeal to those who follow the genre marginally. Reclaim is the title of this ep, consisting of a single track of about 26 minutes (Descension), which comes after the debut full length released last year; stylistically, the Belfast-based trio is in the parts of an act like Bosque, thus placing itself in constant search of disturbing sounds thanks to the massive contribution of ambient drone elements. The almost uninterrupted reiteration of a riff from time to time accompanied by electronic effects, including a drum machine and filtered vocals, might suggest something terribly boring, and, objectively, the risk exists, given the lack of a harmonic development capable of somehow remaining memorized in the listener’s mind. But, if you will, the very apparent coldness of the sound, which places Abbotoir in the privileged position of detached observers of miserable human affairs, turns out to be a characterizing element capable of provoking the estrangement that is surely one of the goals of the British band. A deliberately reverb-soaked production and a sound that to call obsessive is an understatement make the enjoyment of Reclaim objectively complex, providing the feeling that sometimes Abbotoir crosses that labile boundary set between experimentation and complacency. And, in fact, starting from minute 19, Descension offers those minimal footholds, up to that moment stubbornly denied, showing infinitesimally human semblances and it is precisely on this side of their own sound that Abbotoir could insist more in the future, to further improve a proposal that is already certainly intriguing, as well as courageous.

2014 – Independent