Disappointing Polish murk from Echoes Of Yul on The Healing (ZOHARUM 106-2 / TAR TRAIL RECORDS TT 001-2)…multi-instrumentalist Michal Sliwa plays everything in sight, with an impressive printed credit roster that includes a wide range of instruments, radio sounds, and field recordings, and he claims influences from minimal rock, dub music, and krautrock. But these slow-moving compositions are very uncertain as to their direction and their form, and are played and recorded in a heavy-handed, lugubrious manner. His two previous albums appear to have followed conventions within the Doom Metal genre, and the label are proud of his efforts to avoid “following worn-out, tried and safe paths”; so I suppose The Healing represents a new direction for him. I can appreciate Sliwa’s efforts, but he’s very far from having found his own authorial voice, and this record is the sound of him making best guesses as to what to try next. Any deficiencies in the music are cloaked by the aural shadows and bogus atmosphere of the poor production. From 15th October 2015.
