SIHR

This album by four musicians from the eastern end of the Mediterranean is a real gallimaufry, in the best sense of the word. It runs the gamut from trippy electronics to full-on white noise and distortion, with more gentle passages of reflection on oud and guitar. Some of the stand-out moments come from the darbuka playing of Wassim Halal, rock-solid all the way through ‘Enuma Ellis’, but really coming to life on ‘Quasar in Téleutaî’ (though you have to listen hard to isolate it from the textures). The more contemplative textures of ‘Black Powder’ are a highlight, especially the layering of percussion, strings and electronics that occurs towards the end. The emphasis here is definitely on the experimental end of their sound world, and as such this is not an album for the faint-hearted, but for those with the patience there is much to enjoy here.