HUBARDO

This is an entrancing album, in the way only Kayo Dot can. The sound and aura of it is quite beautiful, even when it gets heavy- to me, it feels like the sound of the forest & river that is meant to be portrayed in the narrative (which centres around a strange meteor falling to earth, which a single poet obsesses over). The songs which capture this most clearly, of course, are those which have elements of post-rock, or of ballads, to them- particularly The First Matter, The Second Operation, And He Built Him A Boat, and parts of Passing the River. The other side of this album reflects more Toby Driver's black metal (at least I think it's black metal?) roots, particularly on the first few tracks, where most of the growling/screaming is located. The first track, The Black Stone, is particularly free-form. I admit, black metal & growling are not styles I am a fan of, but these tracks are growing on me. The 'odd track out' almost is the last track, the particular brand of jazz influence & all the horns is quite unusual for this band.

Aside from the growling, & rambling heaviness in some of the tracks which doesn't appeal to me, the other negative factor for this album is the length- it's quite long, and it can be quite difficult to sit down to for one listen. However, overall it is an excellent work. 4 stars.