Howling – Sacred Ground

Album Review by Andrew Gordon | 16 Apr 2015
Album title: Sacred Ground
Artist: Howling
Label: Monkeytown / Counter
Release date: 4 May

Combining sultry vocals and acoustic instrumentation with ethereal synth figures and cold deep house beats, the debut full-length from Howling (the joint project of folk singer Ry X and producer Frank Wiedemann) isn’t exactly the burst of animalistic passion their collaborative moniker might suggest. It is however a suitably wistful collection of loop-based compositions that in their sparse production and nocturnal timbre evoke the image of lone wolf pining beneath a frosty full moon, if not necessarily the sound.

Downtempo crooner Litmus conjures this atmosphere most effectively, its ghostly high-pitched chimes coaxing a tender, forlorn performance from Ry that illustrates Sacred Ground’s stylistic fusion at it’s best, his voice an earthy anchor to Wiedemann’s celestial exploration. For the most part though, the duo split the difference between their disparate styles, landing on a brand of subtle house music delivered in a verse/chorus format that while always competent, occasionally borders on clinical. [Andrew Gordon]

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