Album Review | Evi Vine Delivers On Black//Light//White//Dark
Very few albums in modern music are worthy of the title “masterpiece”. Fewer yet earn cult status almost right away upon release. Underground artists, however, do sometimes come to the surface, leaving audiences with a glimpse into the abyss of their brilliance. Belfast born Evi Vine is certainly one such artist. Her latest LP shows her prowess, as Vine moulds the dark spectre of her personality into a Gothic, ambient assault.
Black//Light//White//Dark is the latest layer of artistic skin which Evi Vine has cut loose. A sprawling, masterful work capturing sounds from the ether and electrifying them. It’s an album anchored in the past and sculpted in the modern age. Pushing forward while keeping your faith in modern music very much alive. Six tracks doesn’t sound much on the surface, but lurking beneath is a huge valley of depth and imagery.
After a four year wait since Give Your Heart To The Hawks, this follow-up delivers immediately. Black//Light//White//Dark bursts into life with the candescent statement ‘I Am The Waves’. A distorted, shoegaze playground of intensity, under the spell of Vine’s angelic eruption. ‘Afterlight’ pulsates with urgency, minimalist and direct as it stutters along like a wounded beast.
The first single, ‘Sabbath’, featuring Cure bassist Simon Gallup, is a nine-minute assault of extremities. An exciting, experimental concoction of Evi Vine’s own imagination. ‘My Only Son’ is heartbreaking and reflective, with a haunting phased piano driving slowly into the darkness. There are echoes of Kate Bush, though delivered in Evi Vine’s own unique style.
In contrast, ‘We Are Made Of Stars’ is an ambient experiment, bringing the audience back into the storm of sound – exquisite and terrifying. The epic eleven minute closer ‘Sad Song No. 9’ strides on a tightrope of light and dark. It dances through themes and key signatures under an enveloping glaze of noise.
It might please tech-heads to learn that Vine recorded on Tony Visconti’s Trident desk, used on many Bowie classics. This album is both fearless and direct. A testament to a talented visionary, who is pushing musical boundaries. Black//Light//White//Dark by Evi Vine is one of the great releases of 2019 so far. Perhaps one which signals the emotive direction in which Evi Vine is heading.
