Album Review :: Evening Hymns :: Spectral Dusk

Evening Hymns

Spectral Dusk

April 8 2013 (Tin Angel Records)

8/10


Words: Linn Branson



This is Canadian Jonas Bonnetta's sophomore album under new name ‘Evening Hymns’, and seemingly now reissued after having first seen light of day last year. Maybe it didn't see enough light then, hence its re-emergence, and it really should as this is a very fine work indeed.

‘Spectral Dusk’ is a highly personal album, serving, largely, as a chronicle to the loss of his father and the resultant emotions, feelings and reflections stemming from that relationship. The 11 tracks draw you in, in a way similar to a warm fire does on a cold and wintery day - much like the log cabin in Northern Ontario, where ‘Spectral Dusk’, like with debut ‘Spirit Guides’, was recorded out of the studio with the intention of bringing with it human reference. The warm and ambient tone of the record is often set by the cracking of fires and the popping of ice in bourbon.

Beginning in mono with gentle whirring electronics which could easily be a rustling wind, the sound of rain or even a sea element before a chuch-like organ drifts in, Bonnetta transports the listener into his world with vocals similar to Bon Iver’s ‘Creature Fear’. ‘Arrows’ follows with a tribal pulsing beat percussion opening that is complimented by piano and captures the notion of “singing hymns to call someone in”. ‘Family Tree’ explores the notion of severing ties with relatives and the restraints of traditional family structures that echoes Josh T Pearson’s ‘Country Dumb’.

The standout track of the album is possibly 'Cabin In The Burn'. Inspired by a wild wintery night at a cabin, it provides a lonesome disconsolate thread that achieves some of the darkest vulnerable moments of the record. Strong percussive beats resound throughout, lending backbone to Bonnetta's vocal that sends quivers along the spine as he draws you into and makes you feel you are there in that cabin with him, with the 'black spruce...[and] mighty pine' outside the door, while the 'wood stove is hissing and spitting'. One minor criticism might be the harmonies lend it in parts towards country territory, where the song stands well enough with just Bonnetta. That aside, it is a stirring six minutes worth of anyone's time.

Elsewhere ‘Asleep In The Pews’ opens with a gentle organ drone that resonates through the gentle guitar picking. The melancholic trumpet is adorned with uplifting strings that adds an orchestral quality. ‘Irving Lake Access Road’ goes back in time to a place that was frequently visited during their lives together. A solemn instrumental soundscape is filled with gentle drones and strings akin to Sigur Ros which prepares the listener for the tear jerking yet cathartic ‘Song To Sleep To’.

Bonnetta himself says he wanted to create "spaces for reflection, rather than bombarding the listener simply with eleven crisp songs...I often miss the opportunity of a mental escape."

'Spectral Dusk' is a work of depth and heart, and as such is one that is a welcome escape to, rather than from.