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Nighttime Nighthymes constituted Kim Larsen’s first careful paces into the apocalpytic folk genre at a time when he was still a member of Danish doom metal band Saturnus. Originally meant as a homage to Death in June, little did we know then that :Of the Wand & the Moon: would one day become his first and foremost artistic outlet.
The claustrophobic intro "GANDR" creeps up on you with its otherworldly, slowed down voice and sets the tone for "I crave for you", one of :Of the Wand & the Moon:'s true gems. Running rather short with two and a half minutes, it still remains captivating from start to finish. The base is laid down by a foreboding acoustic guitar, accompanied by an almost droning touch of organs and haunted by Kim’s whispered voice. This song was also released on the I Crave for You 7", on which he is assisted by none other than violinist Matt Howden of Sol Invictus fame. Nevertheless, personally, I prefer the album version which is significantly bleaker and all the better for it. "Lion serpent sun" invokes his Saturnus roots to resurface in the warm resonance of his trademark electric guitar style; anyone familiar with his work on the aforementioned band or say The Loveless or Blazing Eternity, will know what I mean. Make no mistake, however, this is everything but a doom song. It resounds throughout the track merely as a distant echo from his musical past. "Sól ek Sá" is carried by a mournful cello and Kim’s ever contemplative voice with soft percussion subtly seeping in halfway down the road. The next two songs follow a more downtrodden, traditional path in the apocalyptic folk genre and appear somewhat uninspired. However, the album redeems itself in full through the masterful "Raven Chant" in which the vocals could almost wear the banner of being inflamed and inciting. "She with whom compar'd the Alpes are Vallies" is an atmospheric, romantic piece on acoustic guitar. While "VargQld" has a more distinctively medieval feel. "Wintry Mantle" opens rather ambient like before it starts treading familiar ground again. The sad lamentation of an oboe in the title track closes this work serenely. After a seven minute silence follows a somewhat redundant outro that gives you pretty good scare if you happened to forget the CD was still playing.
samohT
The claustrophobic intro "GANDR" creeps up on you with its otherworldly, slowed down voice and sets the tone for "I crave for you", one of :Of the Wand & the Moon:'s true gems. Running rather short with two and a half minutes, it still remains captivating from start to finish. The base is laid down by a foreboding acoustic guitar, accompanied by an almost droning touch of organs and haunted by Kim’s whispered voice. This song was also released on the I Crave for You 7", on which he is assisted by none other than violinist Matt Howden of Sol Invictus fame. Nevertheless, personally, I prefer the album version which is significantly bleaker and all the better for it. "Lion serpent sun" invokes his Saturnus roots to resurface in the warm resonance of his trademark electric guitar style; anyone familiar with his work on the aforementioned band or say The Loveless or Blazing Eternity, will know what I mean. Make no mistake, however, this is everything but a doom song. It resounds throughout the track merely as a distant echo from his musical past. "Sól ek Sá" is carried by a mournful cello and Kim’s ever contemplative voice with soft percussion subtly seeping in halfway down the road. The next two songs follow a more downtrodden, traditional path in the apocalyptic folk genre and appear somewhat uninspired. However, the album redeems itself in full through the masterful "Raven Chant" in which the vocals could almost wear the banner of being inflamed and inciting. "She with whom compar'd the Alpes are Vallies" is an atmospheric, romantic piece on acoustic guitar. While "VargQld" has a more distinctively medieval feel. "Wintry Mantle" opens rather ambient like before it starts treading familiar ground again. The sad lamentation of an oboe in the title track closes this work serenely. After a seven minute silence follows a somewhat redundant outro that gives you pretty good scare if you happened to forget the CD was still playing.
samohT