Clark Ashton Smith — The Muse of Hyperborea

Continuing to release at a break-neck pace, Cadabra Records just unleashed another limited LP of spoken word horror. Their third Clark Ashton Smith vehicle, The Muse of Hyperborea sees 18 of Smith's poems deftly read once again by horror literature scholar S.T. Joshi. Paired again with the sonic meanderings of Theologian, Smith's poems are given a vibrant new life by this focused and inspired label.

While most of Cadabra's poetry releases have been short, The Muse of Hyperborea takes a different approach. With 18 poems in around forty minutes, this may seem like a decent amount of time, however, the pacing is definitely a bit too frenetic. This speed also seems to play against the creepy drone in the background. It's clear that there are two different recordings happening, and there are very few moments when the music feels like it matches the poetry being recited. It's unfortunate, too, because Joshi's reading fits the material perfectly, and his cadence clearly delivers Smith's wonderfully worded poetry. That's not to put any of the blame on Theologian's sonic side of things, either. Low and slowly unfolding, the undulating drones on The Muse of Hyperborea have a creepy, subterranean vibe that would stand well on their own. Far in the background, their accentuation of the poetry is almost obscured by the difference in levels. True, that it's a spoken word release, not a dark ambient release, but a tad more attention to the volume of the score wouldn't hurt.

Cadabra has been putting out their releases with a hard and heavy schedule. Shedding light on lesser know tales and poems, they've done their part to expose a bigger audience to some of horror's masters. Sometimes, though, releases need a bit more attention, and maybe a slower schedule would help to secure that every release is as good as the last.