ArArtist: Baard
Title: Beneath The Weeping Mountain
Type: Album
Label: Digital / Sokol Keep
I always feel as though in reality I really know very little about the modern world of dungeon synth. I mean sure I was there listening to Mortiis when his first musings stirred in the shadows but I lost touch as the world and my life shifted. I was surprised somewhere around seven years ago when I rediscovered the actually flourishing truly vibrant scene. And then discovered the world that connected it to a part of the underground black metal scene I was unaware of, one with much closer links to their eccentric cousin below stairs. And of course I’m still learning. So basically I have only very recently become aware of One Of Nine, from whence Baard spring, and I still haven’t had the chance to sit down with them, so hopefully this album by Baard will give me the reason.
Because this album defied my random assumptions. Which is always a good day.
‘The Broken Bridge’ is the beginning of the journey. A young sorceress, an old soldier, chance meeting. The sounds of birds, unconcerned. A deep and quite exquisite strumming of acoustic guitars. An absolutely gorgeous, evocative moment. The keyboards are light but rich. Melodious. Notes are golden, dropping around that lively but graceful guitar. The horn sounds playing gently with they keyboards. The rhythm of almost horse hooves lively upon the road. It sounds so beautiful, so simple and yet as you listen, and listen you will, the complexity behind it is the kind that takes the breath. And that is when the feel of the tale unfolds.
‘Ambush Along The Roads’ is carried by pipe and lute, a fuller sound coming with it. There is an underlying strength to the music. It has such beauty but not one you should trifle with. We reach darker moments, the sound of the struggle and the realisation settle in with the sombre tones that such moments are the inevitable on any journey. So we settle in to ‘Resting In The Ruins’, a deep, rhythmic sound with slowing notes and perhaps a touch, just a touch of relaxation despite the surroundings. There is magic here as the night finds its own light but, as the young sorceress might attest, sometimes the magic is quite, natural and fair to look upon.
The next day, maybe, they find ‘A Path Through The Wailing Hills’. It is a steady tune, and something in the gentle melody assures me that there is little to fear here if respect is paid. The layering of sounds, ebbing and flowing and rising higher as perhaps the trail becomes steep has a sense of the effort the travellers need but also of the strange world they pass through. And the guitar work here is just touch perfect, full of feeling and of adventure.
‘Castle Weeping Stone’ rises before them. Its almost as though the music echoes what it once was; full of life and charm. Yet something about the same pattering tune has my eyes constantly looking up, wary. Curious indeed. But it is a delight. ‘The Last Lord’ however is a moment of true melancholy; the tune picks its way slowly, with care as the woodwind sound seems to recall both the past and the faded grandeur of the present. The rise of a simple beat intensifies the feeling of the passing of things and the beautiful fluttering of notes around this simple, sedate are like veils drifting to the floor. ‘Curse Of The Magic’ reveals itself at last, a strange lament laid by years perhaps, with the dextrous music slowly, carefully, loosening the bindings. Like weaving silk, a gossamer web at first whose strength grows as each layer of music is played the feeling of hope rises and perhaps of a quiet victory.
‘The Parting Oath’ is all that remains. Bound by adventure, bittersweet keyboard and guitar whisper uneasily together, slowly finding the words and the determination. It is the heartfelt sound of emotions truly changed by comradeship, bonds made deeper than any other can see.
Beneath The Weeping Mountain is an extraordinary work, and world. It’s complexity is breathtaking and the craft with which Baard have woven the layers of this music, the gorgeous arrangements, into a fantasy world of medieval touch and splendour, or bold adventure and dark shadows is frankly unique. The sound may be gentle, clam, but the vision is both clear eyed and able to step into another soul. It is unafraid of beauty and of the power of delicacy.
With spring coming find a green space, a favourite tree or a beloved ruin. Take a sip of a cool fragrant wine and play this. Maybe the world around you will shimmer, just a little, and you can spend a little time elsewhere.
Gizmo
Walking The Liminal Space 