Andrew Liles And Daniel Menche — The Progeny of Flies

The Progeny of Flies finds Liles and Menche presenting a heady, atmospheric and disturbed suite of songs built around darkly hued ambient tone, sustained organ dread, creepy and sinister looped subtle rhythmic elements and simple yet damn creepy piano notation.

The album is built around 5 longish tracks lasting near on 70 minutes in all, First up is the track Eggs which as it title suggests does bring to mind the slow laying of fly eggs on decaying flesh, faeces and rot- with seemingly the rapidity of laying growing as the track builds up. The track is built around hypnotic gothic horror like organ tones and sustains that really seem to worm there way into you mind with their simmering sinister harmonic air. Next up is 1st to 3rd instar which starts off with looped knocking & brooding buoy type rhythmic tone and deep bass death hits- Menche really building up such a tangible feeling of decay, fear and menace. At about 5 minute mark Liles appears making you jump out of your skin with a series of simply yet goosebump inducing skeletal piano notes that are haunting, gothic and just slightly discordant. With Menche continuing his dread filled march underneath—really very creepy, yet at the same time oddly beautiful.

Next up is the track Pupa which starts off with an alarming horse like sound before opening up into bassy and gloomy rhythmic revolutions with the note sequence from 1st to 3rd instar returning but in a more jarring/sharp manner feeling like the melody is been bloody and painful yanked, ripped and stabbed from the instrument. At about midway point this element drops out and the pair build up a heady, shadowy mix of didgeridoo, gong, grim sinning bowl and sawing violin tones. Lastly we have Metamorphosis which starts with rhythmic textures that could well be internal piano scapes and saws, over this a unnerving tapestry of scratching, feeding, sinister purring is built along with gong tones, before a building pitch black cinematic horn/ string tone mix enters that reachers quite penetrating and powerful heights. Towards the end Liles returns for a few runs of atmospheric piano playing before the feasting and brooding sustain feel returns once more and it exits with fly buzzing tone. A great climatic end to the suite of songs.

The album is packed in a simply yet effective white on black stiff card folder with a circles drawings of fly bodies. The Progeny of Flies is one of the most hypotonic, darkly compelling and at times downright terrifying hours worth of sonic atmospher that you’ll sit through this year, but you’ll have act fairly quickly to get a copy it as it’s only ltd to 500 copies.