The Pearl of Ever Changing Shell by Isildurs Bane & Jinian Wilde
Release date: February 23, 2024Label: Ataraxia
When I was listening to the opening track of ‘Rise, Pt. 1 & 2’ I felt something special was about to rise from the tombs of Egypt that was about to reveal front of my very eyes. It was almost as if Talk Talk had reformed again and the spirit of Mark Hollis had reappeared again to give the band their blessing and continue where they left off with The Colour of Spring and Laughing Stock.
It was quite a surprise to hear Isildurs Bane once more. I had been quite a champion of their music after hearing them on Sid Smith’s Podcasts from the Yellow Room many years ago. Whether its Off The Radar, their collaboration with Van der Graaf’s Peter Hammill on In Amazonia and In Disequilibrium, they have never disappointed me with their visual brainstorming momentum.
Now, they’re teaming up with vocalist Jinian Wilde, who has been around for nearly 23 years and has collaborated with Uniting Nations, Daz Simpson, and the lead singer of the David Cross Band for 17 years, he seems to fit well with the band’s music. The band’s new album, The Pearl of Ever Changing Shell is quite the follow-up to their previous album they released back in 2021.
When you hear a title like The Pearl of Ever Changing Shell, you think of the old serials you would see as a young kid back in the 1930s, early 40s. Ranging from Perils of Nyoka, Flash Gordon to Buck Rogers, but with an alternate score to set the mood on what’s to come.
The vibrations that are on this album invoke the sense of loss, sudden identity, unexpected time changes, the New Wave scene of the 1980s, and a touch of John Hughes’ playlist in what songs he would pick for his next “Brat Pack” film during that time frame.
There’s also a remarkable sense of wonders the ensemble would create for Wilde to come in. And each of the tracks have these unexpected changes that’ll take you to a mental state (‘Born Afraid’), Andy Partridge-like symphonic textures that represents XTC’s golden years (‘Sign of the Times’), and the Köhntarkösz-era from Magma with its psychedelic swarm, Gazpacho, and African percussion tribes (‘Sailing Home’).
Not a single bad track throughout this entire album which folds through a swift of beauty, darker atmospheres, setting up with more story-line adventures that’ll await us in the weeks and months to come. Isildurs Bane are keeping listeners on their feet once more for the search to find the Ever Changing Shell.
