Staff Reviews
Baths - Obsidian
For all the dark, depthless beauty of Baths' immaculately constructed record, its solidity feels too opaque.»
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His sophomore album, 'Obsidian' finds him emerging as one of the most complete artists of his generation. As you might expect, the name hints at darker overtones. The mood is shimmering and pitch-black, the lovely blood flow has turned into lava. Following the success of his first album, Baths spent much of the next year touring to progressively larger audiences. He also released an ethereal ambient project under the Goetic name. When he returned home in July of 2011 to record his sophomore effort, he was bedridden for months because of the E. Coli bacterial virus, barely able to digest solid food and bereft of creative energy. 'Obsidian' understandably has these scars etched into its imprint. The first song is called 'Worsening,' subsequent cuts include 'Ossuary,' 'No Past Lives' and 'Earth Death.' While the mood is often bleak, it's never bloated. 'Miasma Sky' balances being "swallowed alive by the sky" with a gorgeous piano groove and levitative croon that could detonate a disco club night. The album is unusually cohesive, suffused with heavenly choirs, head-nodding percussion, erotic lyrics, and wry humour.
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