H.P Lovecraft — Hallowe'en In a Suburb and others 7"

Following closely on the heels of their release of Lovecraft's "The Hound" and "The Music of Erich Zahn," Cadabra records offers up a limited 7" featuring 7 of Lovecraft's poems. Again read by Andrew Leman, this release shows the lesser known side of Lovecraft's work. Quick and elegant, this is a fun little listen that will definitely add atmosphere to any Halloween (er, Hallowe'en?) gathering.

Ripping through seven poems in about eight minutes, this release has a pretty quick pace. Fortunately, it's just the length of the poems and not Andrew Leman's readings. His delivery shows that he is very familiar with and understands the cadence, and really help to stress Lovecraft's careful word choice. Subtle and creepy, the poems worm their way into the listener's brain and add a strong sense of unease. On display on this 7" are "Hallowe'en In a Suburb," "The Cats," "The Garden," "Festival," "Astrophobos," "Despair," and "The Messenger." If a great reading of these poems weren't enough, they're read over eerie ambient music by Josh Coy of Teratoma Sound Lab.

While the poetry is great, the reading is skillful, and the music is subtly creepy, the rapid fire delivery of the poems is kinda tough. It's easy to listen to a short story or a novella in this format, but poem after poem doesn't really leave a lot of time to digest. Yes, one can pause, and probably should, but if that's the only complaint, that's good, right?

Cadabra Records' second entry in their Lovecraft series is a departure from the norm, but works well for a limited 7". Having only pressed 150 copies, this one will go fast. This series is off to a solid start, and shows no signs of reducing in quality. Looking forward to their next title, The Lurking Fear.