Earlier in 2017 we noted the reissue of Bad White Corpuscle by Electric Sewer Age, an album which I think was pretty much a solo turn by Coil’s producer Danny Hyde. However, this Coil side project originally featured Peter Christopherson, and they both appear (albeit uncredited) on Moon’s Milk In Final Phase (SOLEILMOON SOL 185 CD). This is another reissue, of recordings whose origins go back to 2007 and were available only through mail-order to special customers on the Divine Frequency label. True believers would want to go even further back to 2002, and a Coil album called Moon’s Milk (In Four Phases) on the Eskaton label, but this is an esoteric pathway whose stones my feet have not trod and I must leave it up to the experts to untangle this skein of overlapping ideas and variant manifestations of psychic energy.
The moon-worshipping theme undoubtedly connects to pagan leanings, or to a dark magick ritual whose exact details would require further research, themes which I assume that any Coil devotee worth their salt is steeped in. To us non-initiates, this Moon’s Milk record is four interesting pieces of electronic instrumental music, which strikes me as a kind of twisted take on Radiophonic tunes crossed with an unholy dark ambient edge; every time you think a tune or pattern is starting to make some sense, then you fall over a tripwire or stumble into a magic mirror reflection. What I’m trying to convey is that the music is deceptive, concealing its true intent, keeping the target out of the listener’s reach. Vague distortion, wobbly off-kilter melodies, non-matching sequencer patterns, and careful arrangement of odd phrases are among the devices used by the studious pair in achieving this aim. In much the same way, the Renaissance Alchemists would prevent comprehension of their secret recipes and spells by encoding the details in engravings and emblem books, making much use of strange symbols and visual metaphors.
It’s disquieting; although the music is not aggressive, I can feel it sapping away at my rational senses with every minute that passes. Use with caution. Arrived 6th July 2017.