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Released on May 12, 2015 via Profound Lore Records
Dominick Fernow shouldn’t really need an introduction, but for 20 years he’s been pushing the boundaries of ambient/electronic and noise based music. Until now that is, as on Frozen Niagara Falls he has smashed the fuck out of the boundaries never mind push them.
For various reasons recently I’ve detached from a lot of heavier or extreme music. I’ve been more likely to listen to Fernow’s Vatican Shadow guise and have avoided anything with harsh or screamed vocals generally. I’ve been waiting for an album to break through and really grip me again. This one has punched a hole in the wall and gripped me right by the throat.
Certain words like “harsh” and “ambient” may spring up in my description of this album. However if you see them, bare in mind that here their meaning is redefined, ramped up by a trillion then torn apart again. Frozen Niagara Falls is not only a career defining album for the prolific Fernow it’s a genre (pick one) defining one.
Sixteen tracks, 90 minutes in length, by its own making a gargantuan release in times of short attention spans and impatience. However, the music contained keeps or rather demands your attention throughout, a bit like being tied to a chair by a demented torturer that you kinda have a crush on. It’s not music to play to go cruising in your car. Unless it’s 4AM and going 100mph torwards a brick wall. Nor is it suitable “party” music. Unless it’s a party you invited no-one to and instead of cake you have a large bowl of broken glass you keep rubbing your face into. It’s not music to play while “hanging out with your friends”. Unless your friends are all dead and regularly get a pass out from hell.
Seriously though, this is some dark shit, even by Prurient standards. Emotionally heavy and dense there is however twisted melodies amongst the noise and crumbling chaos. A range of instrumentation is used, deconstructed and abused. From driven industrial beats, washes of synth, ambient organic passages to harsh walls of noise. At times Fernow’s vocals are painful screams at other times spoken word and soft.
‘Myth Of Building Bridges’ begins the descent into Frozen Niagara Fall‘s darkness. Hissing electronics merge with a simple acoustic melody. Slowly the layers become more dense with synths combining with off-beat rhythms. Vocals are introduced, effect laden and almost dalek-like. By contrast the following ‘Dragonflies To Sew You Up’ is almost light relief at the shorter 5 minutes. It’s possibly the most conventional track here, with a relentless beat and returning melodies. This might be Prurient at its most accessible, but don’t expect to see him performing on breakfast TV anytime soon. Despite the abrasive feel and dark tone throughout the album, there are plenty of glorious yet tragic melodies throughout the album. At times underpinning more forceful tracks or as the basis for full tracks. ‘Every Relationship Earthrise’ for example is based on highly infectious swirls of synth. Offset with Fernow’s pained vocals it’s almost like John Carpenter composing while on bath salts.
I’ve had a feeling about Frozen Niagara Falls since the first teaser video emerged. In that teaser a small section of music gripped me and I kept going back to listen. The music was from the track ‘Jester In Agony’ and the full album version is astonishing. Over 6 minutes in length and for four of them little more than waves of synths. It’s incredibly sad sounding and drenched in emotion. It eventually introduces a disjointed beat, but by then the track has already left it’s mark. It’s one of the musical highlights of recent years for me and totally devastating.
Elsewhere ‘Poinsettia Pills’ is an endurance test of scratchy electronic mutations and noise. ‘Shoulders Of Summerstones’ has an ebbing acid undertone with spoken word vocals and is another lighter moment. ‘Greenpoint’ is further standout, cold electronica and acoustic guitar give way to a more industrial feel. One of the many tracks over ten minutes it shape shifts throughout and is further proof of Fernow’s mastery of various genres.
The title track is split across two tracks and combined is an oppressive track of relentless abrasive experimentation. They aren’t back to back however so there is some respite. ‘Christ Among The Broken Glass’ closes the album in more ambient and melodic style. It’s a gloriously epic track with melodic acoustic guitar. It has a bit of an Ennio Morricone feel to it, although instead of a western imagine it soundtracking a dystopian sci-fi film.
Frozen Niagara Falls is an astonishing album, despite its length it never drags or lulls. The end comes and you find yourself putting it back on, as captivating as it is you know you missed something. It is dense and multilayered and can be enjoyed on various levels. Consider me gripped.
