Review Summary: The sound of winter.
Just shy of a year since releasing the impressive debut album
Five Treasure of Snow, Boston solo artist Dzo-nga has returned with an even more ambitious offering, one that retains the signature sub-zero atmosphere of the previous album while exploring further levels of depth in the process. Coming off the back of a successful foray into transportive and enveloping ambient black metal, this chilly follow up treads freshly powdered ground, incorporating a host of new techniques in amongst the old and ending up all the better for it. The sleekness of
Upon the Shimmered Bough reveals a level of care and focus not often characteristic of projects so early in their development, and thanks to the artist’s extra attention to cohesion, this comparatively brief EP truly is one track - in both length
and mind.
Within its opening moments, the album extends a wary greeting in the form of gently blowing wind, understated percussion, and the engaging application of subtly operatic spoken word. The vocals ease into this quarter-hour piece with a solemn recital from the first stanza of an eponymous poem, for which the album acts as an aural vessel. Imparting the story of winter, both lyrics and instrumentation conspire together to transform all thoughts into those of ice filled landscapes and snow-kissed forests. Newfound folk elements throughout
Upon the Shimmered Bough are a very welcome addition, in particular the ever-present keys steal the show, but the intermittent adornments are also very well used, especially the dash of tasteful wind chimes that sound the EP’s death knell. Much like the debut, each of winter’s dichotomies are represented, with Dzo-nga’s blend of ambience and Paysage-d’Hiver-esque black metal frequently interconnecting and overlapping. Characterised by a distinctive scream that’s paired with high level distortion and reverb, the harsher moments and driving percussion compliment and contrast with the melancholy serenity of the lilting keys and immersive ambient segments. Occasionally, the mix reveals some unstableness, predominantly when both sides of Dzo-nga’s sound are blended together. The soundscape often feels
too open and airy, giving the sense at times of two separate tracks playing together, rather than a singular piece. This creates a unique effect of its own, but this may not have been intended.
Regardless, everything on
Upon the Shimmered Bough sounds clearly defined, and there’s never a sense that something is missing or obscured by the production. Instead, the entirety of winter’s auditory world is laid out before the listener, and with every additional syllable of the poem, every enticing melody, the more palpable it becomes. Displaying an organic evolution from
Five Treasures of Snow, this single track EP effortlessly conveys a sense of atmospheric submersion. If this level of quality and sagacity is maintained, there’s no telling what could be achieved with this sound if it were given a slightly more substantial period to build.
