KROBAK/SOMNOLENT SPLIT

KROBAK (experimental/post-rock) and SOMNOLENT (art/funeral doom) are releasing split EP January, 31. An obvious idea of working together is embodied in this 20-min long record, consisting of two exclusive tracks: KROBAK's 'Park Luny' (the very first 2007' demo, which includes 'a broken piano' part, recorded on a portative tapedeck in a university hall and first presented here, on PA's forum!) and SOMNOLENT's 'Visible World Eraser', which is going to be released on band's second album in another version. Vynil concept can be traced in any detail, from sound effects to sleeve design. First pressing is limited to 50 hand-made copies! So, the second pressing is on it's way, and some plans on touring together are in process of discussing ;). By releasing 2-years old demo, KROBAK underlines the significant change in his creative activity, which is going to happen on project's second full-length album. This demo serves as a farewell symbol to the old days of solo work in a home studio...let's see what will come up next ;)

Decent split from these Ukrainian talents!

Since at least a couple of years ago, I have followed some of Igor's works; he is a very talented musician whose creativity can be appreciated in several projects, Krobak is my favorite.

His debut full-length album (Diary of the Missed One) was a pleasant surprise and a constant and enjoyable listening. He has also made several splits with other talented musicians from his land, which I believe are their friends.

Last year he released a "Krobak ? Somnolent" split, that offers one song per artist. That Somnolent band was unknown to me until this time, so I didn't really know what to expect, last.fm tags them as "funeral doom" or "doom metal", only god knows what that is. The Krobak song is called "Park Luny", which is included in his first material, but as I read from prog-jester's review, this is the first demo version, so it is interesting. It is a dreamy song at first, some very gentle sounds and a charm atmosphere. After minute 3 the song takes another direction, the entrance of those bass lines adds a different feeling, along with the guitars which are gradually progressing until they turn very emotional, that moment is precious. The last two minutes are very calm, again charm and dreamy.

The Somnolent song is called "Visible Word Eraser", ten endless minutes to my ears, the guys are talented of course, but I believe the kind of music they play is not my cup of tea at all. The music is too slow and the raw vocals does not help, after minute six it becomes a bit heavier, but the rhythm is still slow the final part is a bit more interesting due to the guitar work.

My final grade will be 2 stars, like Krobak's song, dislike Somnolent's one, but anyway it is a nice split, good luck for these guys.

Enjoy it!