Jute Gyte — Ritenhour’s Earth
The album kicks off with the comparatively-short seven minutes of ‘The Crossing’ whose muted, slowly revolving twangs are allowed to infect one another creating harmonics that strongly beat and pulse emphasising any slight variance in pitch and position. With this epic yet dreamy feel of travelling guitar it’s tempting to imagine horseback journeys in New Mexico from Cormac McCarthy’s bleak novel of the same name. Indeed, one is also reminded of Earth’s country-influenced phase marked by their Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method album, itself said to be influenced by the author.
Similarities to what was originally Earth’s tribute band, Sunn O))), also abound, particularly on the album’s most engaging track, Night, which majors on the ominous rumblings of deep, singular notes to slowly form a mantric riff that faithfully repeats across its 23 minute duration. And yet, such comparisons to pioneers of drone metal are foreshortened by Kalmbach’s processing – instead of letting his guitar drift in amplification alone, he creates computer-based systems that corrode the trails of each note, filling the lengthy gaps with digital detritus determined by his playing. On ‘The House’ it makes the track difficult to get a hold of as the neighbouring guitar tones twist and fight for space in a cloud of moaning mid-range. While ‘Day’ out stays its welcome at 33 minutes of mildly melancholic guitar wistfulness plagued by digital corruptions and fluttering static like flies busily looking for food.
But ‘Night’ seems to thrive from this casting of the plucked and processed, creating an immersive, sedimentary sound where each depth charge bass note disturbs the environment sending billowing pulsations that move with the elegance of an aquatic species.