Caldera Lakes – Undefined
I shouldn’t have to introduce Caldera Lakes, but since I haven’t written about them before I guess it’s somewhat necessary. Two chicks who make amazingly awesome music individually as Married In Berdichev and Kevin Shields come together and make extra amazingly awesome music as Caldera Lakes. They’ve put out stuff on top notch labels like SRA & Deathbomb Arc, with their newest self-titled bit of hushed creepybliss on newcomer død univers.
Three tracks is all it takes for these girls to drown your sorrows in ghostly folk drone. The tape opens with “Contained Etherealness,” which, as lame a name as it is, provides a pretty apt description of what goes down. Highly restrained backwards guitar pulses with skittering shaman relics & nymphs whispering the secrets of the mist. A wispy trip into the twilight, forest adventures that result in nothing but mystery. The next track is wayyy darker and scarier. Harsh sounds that pierce through dark caves, dripping & twinkling from the fire pit, all while those goddamn sirens sing the beauty of the sun. Fucking intense.
The B side is one 15 minute piece that starts out with a miniature army of chimes, shimmering with a heart of gold. Some grinding static noise works its way in, like rustling leaves before a twister hits. An assortment of minimal electronic textures fade in and out while a faint voice recites incantations & candles flicker in the wind. Blood flows up into the sacred cup, smoke gets devoured by the fire, rain absorbed into the clouds, the ritual plays out in the middle of the night while the fabric of space expands & contracts.
Caldera Lakes are just interested in acquiring your soul through the process of mystic drone. No biggy. If you think you can handle that shit, I strongly recommend you nab this hot piece. Only 100 made, with some seriously killer packaging. An oversized clear book, with random scientific illustrations printed on vellum, and a transparent tape. SEXY.