The RMR crew was forever mesmerized by Folkesange, Myrkur‘s 2020 piece. Full-throttle and somewhat unhinged folk, tongue-in-cheek, with that hidden evil streak that renders Ms. Bruun‘s records so alluring. And I still vibrantly remember when M hit, that excellent piece so full of controversy. Half of the extreme metal adepts were foaming at the mouth and the rest kinda careened between disbelief and adoration. All of that led to an excellent brand of filigrane yet blackened fury that the RMR crew always found alluring.
So, here Spine hits our review pipe with some funky splash. Amalie Bruun‘s trademark is that she always will do something slightly different and unexpected compared to former records. Some funky concoction, like the ethereal wails combined with otherworldly shrieks and tremolos on the aforementioned M. Or going full-tilt folk when nobody expects it. So, with some trepidation, we fired this here record up. And for cause.
To cut to the chase, the 34-minute blurb sounds like an amalgamation of ideas, all jockeying for attention. A hodgepodge of different tastes and flavors that change on you at no moment’s notice. And all of that comes with a mixture of mainly rock and synth-heavy pop with a few harsher sections popping up here and there. A short piece like this one should hit hard and get all the crunchtime it can muster. Time’s short to make an impact and the devil ain’t waiting for ye. Instead, Spin leisurely meanders about a number of soundscapes. And by that token, it surely showcases Bruun‘s awe-inspiring talent with a production that is beautifully worked out to the last detail.
However, the selection of tunes, melodies, the frugal strings, and all sorts of elements kinda slither about that slippery and highly polished surface that Bruun‘s ethereal musings are bouncing off from. A selection of songs that disjointedly sputter along a tracklist without much impact.
And whilst Bålfærd – the intro – gave some hope that some cheekily pagan offering would head our way, the sickly Like Humans already taught us otherwise. If anything, this is some badly constructed piece of weak-tea pop rock that nobody would talk about. Were it not for coming from Myrkur, that is. The gothically tainted Mothlike seems to meander somewhere in between Rioghan and Anette Olzon, some sort of space pop with some tremolos in dire need of a disco ball. Spine – the title track – sounds like a female version of one of Tuomas Holopainen’s solo adventures with some metallic benefits. Only, this one almost bored us to tears.
Valkyriernes Sang – in contrast – proved to be more convincing. Some of the cheeky energy is back on that one with Bruun in pretty good form. Finally, Spine projects some refreshing energy and much better emotional depth than before. Something the other tracks are sorely lacking, I daresay. The industrial-sounding Blazing Sky follows its former brethren closely.
Now, to beat some sense into this painful affair, the RMR review desk circled back to each and every one of Myrkur‘s releases. From the somewhat frugal first self-titled EP, the astonishingly frivolous M with its deliciously overwrought controversies on full display, to Mareridt that never quite convinced us completely even if the piece turned into a good record. Now, the cheekily excellent Folkesange just blew us out of the water – and does so to this day. In contrast, Spine here seems to lack what the title so avidly describes. A mushy motley selection of songs that somehow lack the depth and oomph to turn the good ideas on display into motion.
In other words, if you want to do pop, do it with the artfulness of one Steven Wilson. If you wish to inject deliciously controversial Extreme Metal with some wild screaming, try to look back to the aforementioned M. THAT was an amazing display – and short of being excellent. But just slamming some tremolos on a confused concoction of pop synth elements won’t transform this thing into metal or lend it substance. And the often simple songwriting won’t help here.
So, finally, the RMR crew was somewhat saddened that we couldn’t like this piece better than we would have wished. And in hindsight, perhaps this piece should never have appeared at all on this ‘zine. But as we did pick it up, here’s our verdict: Spine is without doubt artistically proficient to a high degree. But it otherwise just lacks a ton of powerful oomph and emotional depth to let it soar up to those high spheres where great records dwell.
Just sayin.
Record Rating: 4/10 | Label: Relapse Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 20 October 2023