Australian artist Adam Hardcastle’s 6-track EP Stille is a combination of folk and new age hymns encased by solemn and religious vocal inflections. Its sleepy pace is complemented with a minimalist approach to instrumentation across the entire album. This could be simultaneously charming and exciting, but in the case of Stille, it is intriguing, yet boring at times.
In the opening track, “Dazed,” Adam’s soothing but distraught tenor is like a cry for help down a dark hole. The song drags on towards the end, clocking the end at 11:28. It is the longest but perhaps most interesting track on Stille. The hypnotic guitar progressions and creepy whistling towards the end of “Dazed” is like a funeral march passing through. “Masse” follows with its flurry of disturbing whispers and baritone moans, sounding like something out of Middle Earth. It is reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s 1969 psychedelic experiment Ummagumma where the artists recorded all sorts of noises and mysterious messages. “The Stoning” also has Pink Floyd-esque echoes, specifically in the vocals. The song plays out like a scene out of a movie. Adam’s raw and heart-felt storytelling channels the sorrow and desperation of Roger Waters and the lyrics are poignant in both language and drama. “I hear a man was stoned to death. I hear he drew his dying breath. Drew his last sweet sticky breath. Dropped down at their final swing…” “The Sky’s The Same” has a tribal undulating rhythm accompanied by the banging of a singular bongo throughout. The backing vocal chants fuel the religious overtones of the song. There is an overall sense of doom in this song, as well as throughout Stille.
According to the artist, Stille is a compilation of music written for theater and soundtracks while he spent time in Adelaide, Australia. The tracks flow best when heard in the official track order, but the subject matter varies widely from song to song and gives the impression of being a collage of singles rather than a cohesive album. Although the songs are extremely imaginative in sound and effect, they are not necessarily for commercial consumption. The eclectic and new age sounds might be more fit for documentaries or short films.
The record is more a meditative collage of sound than actual “songs” in the traditional verse-chorus-bridge format. When the songs are not sleepy, they are boring. “Summer Afternoon”’s linear chord progression gets repetitive after awhile. The philosophical expressions could have been more pronounced through a further exploration of melody and dynamics. Fans of experimental folk and new age music might be intrigued and may want to explore Adam Hardcastle’s inner sanctum. For those who are looking for more progressive folk music, look elsewhere.
Review by Mike Morgan
