hag decAnne Rolfs' debut EP as Allroh, Nym, sounded like a transmission from the the spirits, with clanging, clattering, abrasive guitar and her chanting, shamanic, incantations striving angrily for the infinite. The one-woman guitar army is back in force with this Steve Albani-produced full length effort. There are more vocals this time around and things are structured to feel like a collection of songs rather than instrumentals with vocal ornamentation. Rolfs' unique guitar stylings are very much still in place. 'Ade' is a virtuosic and abrasive performance combining refined skill with a willingness to assault the eardrums with sheets of sound. Midway through the raucous 'Hebelus' Rolfs pulls things back to almost silence in a move that highlights her ability to incorporate both subtlety and pummeling into the same piece of music. Rolfs spins contrapuntal lines into her furious strumming, rarely resorting to single notes and never to cliché. Imagine Paco di Lucia beating out "Rasgueados" through a filthy amplifier and you're getting close to the sonic impact, but missing out on the uniqueness of Rolfs' sound. There are also many quieter tracks on Hag Dec, often based on acoustic guitar. 'Ma and Pa' has a Sitar-like sound running through it which adds a blasted, psychedelic, late-60s vibe. 'Feder' is underpinned by a series of low drones and meditative, understated vocals in contrast to some of the wild yelping found elsewhere. 'Eine Skaboise' shocks when its acoustic guitar hints at 'Stairway to Heaven'-era Led Zeppelin until Rolfs' hard-edged vocal emerges and messes things up a little. The acoustic-based tracks sound, perhaps inevitably, a little more conventional than the electric, but also contain moments of unalloyed beauty. Rolfs' modal melodies refract the folk music of various countries through a modernist lens, digging deep into the roots of music while moving forward towards something new like Ornette Coleman or even Albert Ayler. Hag Dec is ferocious and passionate, but also refreshingly lacking in any sign of pretentiousness or self indulgence. --nick ilott.
:: Allroh/Hag Dec - Graumann/Broken Silence.
