Zeresh is a project from Tamar Singer, one half of Israel’s folk noir duo Cruel Wonders, whose ‘Gentle Doom’ album was released last year.
An enchanting, but claustrophobic listen, ‘Gentle Doom’ had its folk sensibilities very much to the fore, but with Zeresh, Tamar takes us into a more discordant world. A wider range of influences are at play here, but the result proves no less suffocating.
The atmospheres and moments of electronica that were present in ‘Gentle Doom’ are brought more to the surface on the 4 track ‘Sigh for Sigh’, providing a level of confidence on the EP that seemed to be bubbling under previously.
Tamar’s vocals are able to stretch out further over this landscape, and this is evident from the first track ‘O, Gather Me the Rose’, and throughout the reaming tracks, that seem to have an immense personal meaning for the multi-instrumentalist.
Gentle picking meets doomy atmospheres on the first song, and Tamar’s vocals really begin to soar, while the lengthy ‘Halls Grew Darker’ brings in a grimmer and more psychedelic edge that sounds like a storm brewing, with the vocal lines being ushered in on the wind.
The 3rd track may be called ‘Holy’, but the massive fuzz chords and ghostly sounding incantations prove quite unnerving. Droning, but actually quite mesmerizing.
‘Double Ballad of Life and Death’ brings us more fuzz, but blended with the bending guitar lines, shimmering acoustics, and echoed vocals, the effect is powerful and dynamic.
…A record best suited for headphones and deserving of your fullest attention, ‘Sigh for Sigh’ presents us with just under half an hour’s worth of ambient melancholy. Like Singer’s other work, patience provides many rewards, as the music works its spell and begins to draw you in.
(8/10 Stuart Carroll)
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