heaven and Heaven And is the music project held by Australian Necks’s Tony Buck on drums and percussion, also Australian Steve Heather on drums, percussion and marimba, German Martin Siewert on guitars, lap steel, electronics and keyboard as well as in production, along with German Zeitblom who also is on bass and keyboard. The album Sweeter As the Years Roll By kicks off with a jazzy introduction of intense percussion drumming; creating an expectation of possible free jazz blah blah but quickly surprises those expectations when Alexander Hacke’s vocals pierce in as soon as the second track begins. From then on the whole experimentation backdrop appears which is to eventually come to surface and take over whenever instrumentalism allows it. The member’s playing skills blend together in integrity resulting in a wholesome “rock sound” within the composition’s freedom. Distorted guitar torture has matched with the indecisive percussion tempos that manage to maintain a sense of melody. A good way to not allow anyone to contextualise an album, nevertheless a great opportunity to observe how different facets of art rock can coexist on the same stage without suffocating in a sea of baroque. Post and avant-garde in it’s sober times so as to also leave space for Hacke’s vocals, gradually ascending to out-of-control krautrock, going beyond that, flirting a lot with space rock but never gets there because it overdoses on something preferring hedonistic repetition on fucked up, long, distorted, addictive riffs and noise rock playground. In the entire duration of the album, Siewert’s and Zeitblom’s idea of production provides the instruments with the compliments they deserve with loud - whisper electronics and locates them in the correct sound economy. Overall, Heaven And is a project seriously about music and Sweeter As the Years Roll By is serious music.
:: Heaven And/Sweeter As The Years Roll By - Staubgold/Indigo.
