Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1 (Southern Lord)

On Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1, Seattle’s Earth continues down the path taken by 2005’s gamechanging Hex: Or, Printing in the Infernal Method: stark, expansive instrumentals that encompass wide-open spaces as much as inner universes. In a sense, it’s merely chapter three in the new volume, but there are (as always, subtle) differences here. The Southwestern atmospheres the band has been exploring have been shifted to a sound that evokes a wide, cloudy sky at dusk rather than the desert at night. Leader Dylan Carlson brings melody to the front as never before, and while that still doesn’t make “Hell’s Winter” or “Father Midnight” hummable, exactly, it does make them more accessible. Finally, there’s the arrival of cellist Lori Goldston, whose droning beauty gives Carlson the perfect foil for his lugubrious guitar. Casual fans of the band’s recent output likely won’t really notice the difference, but diehards will hear Angels of Darkness for what it is: another turn of the wheel in a fascinating evolution.

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