Caïna — Mourner

Mourner is a grim often beautiful, jagged and tuneful mix of folk, indie, post-rock, black metal and the avant-grade. At times coming off with the inventive ear of a bizarre Scott walker led black metal/folk project, at others moving with morose,mischievous and deeply hurt spirit of Syd Barrett.

This is this one-man British project (one Andrew Curtis-Brignell) second release, which through out it’s drowned in a sour,lonesome and occult english grace, which engulfs you fully. Each song been its own little dark fairy-/folktale via strange melancholy psychedelics that wonders off in surprising and bizarre tangents. Songs start off acoustic and lulling to suddenly explode into a mixture of indie guitar noise meets black metal, Post-rock slides down in barely there acoustic walkways, choir like voices raise like dancing forest spirits to be crushed and corrupted by noisy black guitar noise, black metal walls fall to emotive and bluesy post-rock wails, or wondering piano elements appear almost lost and forlorn at the songs sonic edges. Little sonic tricks and textural surprises are abounded managing to give this a very other worldly and often jarring feel.

Something that considerable adds to the album impact is the wonderful clear yet rough and viscous production, when it needs to sound sweet and dark it does, but when the guitars black metal/guitar wall elements kick-in they really do with wonderful fresh barbaric vigour. Another thing that makes this work in such an effective manner is Andrew’s vocals which go from darkly angelic, hopeless lost and fragile, to rip your face off growls, but every note seems to be sung with such conviction, emotion & feeling. I feel going in to song details too much would rather ruin and almost cheapen the album, but trust me if you enjoy black metal and folk taken off in a very original & different tangent you’ll whole heartily embrace Mourner’s dark and varied soul.

Simply put one of the freshest, most inventive post-black metal albums you'll hear this year. Thats guaranteed to become a dark, beautiful jagged classic that you’ll return to in years to come still marvelling at its troubled yet enchanting presence.