kai na ti (gia tous tempelides
)
The Gathering will never do anything like everyone. It is certain. Thus when Dutch announces a return to the guitars and an orientation rock'n'roll for their new album, it is useless to expect an unspecified facility or obviousness which could leave under hearing the term of rock'n'roll galvaudé with the eyes of general public. The least pégreleux one in heavy rotation is rock'n'roll in this moment. The Gathering is elsewhere. Very far from that.
"Home" indeed offers the darkest face of the band of Anneke which subjected to us since dark and captivating "the How to Measure has Planet". Exit the relative ardour of "If_Then_Else" and the pageantries magnet of sublime "the Memories", The Gathering has just delivered to us what constitutes can be its album more the intimist, most timeless and personal. As much to say not easiest to apprehend but of a tough beauty.
Return to the guitars thus, but in a form of astonishing and singular maturity, disguised until in the least harmonic to keep of it only the gasoline noisy following the example worrying "Alone", short but very dense format calling one referred remote time the progressions worthy "Mandylion", ambient station-wagon opening the field on a discrete entry of the synthetic tablecloths, electronic battery with the balance on the superb song of Anneke, multiplying overall to multiply by ten the melodies.
Return to the rock'n'roll for this side believed and almost dirty per moment, the production lives by the crackings, these natural saturations which telescope with a scattered electronic musculature, occupying the background and giving volume while the guitars of Rene Rutten draw the skeleton ("Shortest Day "which is delivered progressively).
And to make tangible a melancholy which one did not imagine any more to pull about The Gathering, the demons return to take space, "Waking Hour" being stretched in long volutes, piano out of stone of vault and swing towards light arpeggios, the sequence "Tires" - "A Noise Severe" for eight minutes atmospheric decorated of sonorities of one completed time old keyboard, in an idea of "How to Measure has Planet" altered by the evolution of Dutch, in a sublime word. Even "Your Troubles are Over" allows a look towards the past, introduction of voice and melodies of another The Gathering, that which one knew in the middle as of years 1990 before looking towards the sun, rock'n'roll becoming brilliant the time of a break.
And under these temporal formats that as no would describe the traditional ones, The Gathering A cannot never be been also progressive, also experimental by pushing back its limits, passing very close to Radiohead on captivating and intense "the Box", managing to interfere sadness and light in less than five minutes, perilous exercise reserved to the experts in the handling of the emotions. The traditional immediate one "In Between" and its guitars sirens, its low carrying of it will be only one proof with load moreover.
It however seems redundant but essential to note the vocal work once more exceptional of Anneke, true goldsmith of purified but vibrating lines. A song stripped of any mannerism and aiming only essence, free at using of formulas that glosses since more had been heard to him, saving start of youth, beauty always so limpid.
"Home" or astonishing opposite course, curling the perfection. Curling because one remains of marble in front of strange "the Solace" with the not very common mixing, samples vocal very ahead and somewhat denaturing the daydream in which one had coiled oneself.
Opposite course bus refuting a direct evolution to retrogress to pick in what made the legend of the group, since "Mandylion", while passing by "How to..." while keeping a foot in this space which is clean for them and which they open to us a little more with each album. Astonishing by this facility except standard to assemble the strongest feelings and to sound as if this album belonged to us since always.
"Home" or a timeless album which is discovered and is apprehended. The Gathering seems to have put all its intelligence, its Art and its emotions in this album. It is normal that the effort is of setting to enjoy the gasoline of it.