After fronting the Swedish neoclassical dark wave band Arcana for nearly two and a half decades, Peter Bjärgö has decided to fully concentrate his musical talents and efforts in his own eponymous project. With a musical shift focusing more on dark atmospherics and songwriting geared toward live instrumentation backed by droning keys, Peter embarks on a soulful dark ambient journey filled with crystal-clear production, haunting vocal patterns and melodies throughout that show a versatile album containing the complete package for pleasing the ear and mind. Peter’s latest solo album, ‘Structures And Downfall’ soars to new heights, creating a perfect wall of sound that is as much wistful as it is opulent.
“Inner Cathedral” opens with an alluring guitar riff with a slight reverb and echo that would even please the production efforts of the great Devin Townsend. That soon gives way to the addition of drums and a backing ambient keyboard track to add to the sorrowful grimness of the song. Peters vocals come in and are absolutely chilling. This is a slow, droning track filled with beautiful, harmonized vocals and live instruments and is one of my overall favorite tracks on the album. “Into Eternity” starts off as just a man and his guitar, but with exquisite production and the eventual inclusion of vocals and ambient keyboards. “Anemoia & Onism” is an instrumental piece that has a tribal drum-like pattern and long, drawn out keyboard patterns that provide both the melody and backing ambience for the track. “When Thoughts Become Your Enemy” is another angelic piece that contains a very hazy, acoustic guitar riff, which is soon complimented by a graceful piano arrangement. “Structures And Downfall” is another one of my favorite songs as it slowly builds with a dream-like guitar riff, simple drum pattern, and a droning keyboards that constantly crescendo in the background. When Peter finally sings in the last half of the song, it’s very reminiscent of David Gilmour singing any of the classic songs from the ‘Wish You Were Here’ album. “Disintegration Of The Mind” showcases Peter’s vocal talents once again as he pushes the boundaries of his lower register and belts out a beautiful vocal melody from the very depths of his voice. The final track on the album, “Winter Song” is a very gloomy track, exposing the grayness of winter as it doesn’t get any brighter than perceived seasonal representation of the song.
Peter Bjärgö has struck gold with has latest release ‘Structures And Downfall’. Although it’s unlike any dark ambient album you’ll hear anytime soon, the atmospheric structure of these songs and the overall production, easily make this one of the album of the year contenders of the genre. Although vocals are used sparingly throughout this recording, there is not a single spot where it sounds discordant or disconnected from the track for which it is contained. The Cyclic Law Label once again produces another high-quality gem in its lineup of unmatched artist. Show your support by clicking on the link below to purchase this excellent album.
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Link:
https://cycliclaw.bandcamp.com/album/structures-and-downfall
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