This is analogue synth legend Jill Frasers latest album, where she re-works a series of American revival hymns through her 1978 Serge Modular Prism in cahoots with her Prism Modular and Ableton Push 3 to create otherworldly soundscapes.
The album opens with When We All Get To Heaven that has been slowed down and refracted, allowing the church bells to chime forebodingly against the angelic tonalities of the long synth notes, achieving a spooky atmosphere perfect for contemplation, you reach the gates ready to account for your actions in the life you have just departed from, a lone viola inviting answers.
Amen 1 opens like your spaceship is just leaving the atmosphere, you're soaring towards the far galaxies, the afterburners have kicked in, while you are laid back ready for an immense journey, this has a subtle calmness.
Earthly Pleasures has ambient harp style plucks and drops, a steady tone rises and falls. Eventually speaker rattling bass notes are added to the pleasurable soundscape, jarring slightly, the tune builds, giving feelings of sitting in a huge gothic church, with the organ adding to the meditative qualities.
Beautiful Summer has an almost Psalter like feel to the opening motif, the counter tones help build the feelings of bright warmth, with layers of sounds like crickets in the woods, rustling trees, bird calls, squawking ducks with chiming bells.
Message Of Mercy in times as dark as these, is obviously the longest tune on the album, slowly shifting sands, applying heavenly voices to the appeal for mercy from all the dreadful horrors of the 2020's, before the disruptive sounds mangle the mood, then receding back into the darkness, the beauty can only return with enough supplication, while being aware that disruption is never far away, voices babble away beside the lake. Deep feelings of acceptance and hope shine through the latter part, assuring us that tomorrow might actually be a brighter day, still deep within all our cores, all we need do is show enough mercy and understanding.
Amen 2 has what sounds like a child's music box being manipulated over the calm beauty of the synth lines, spectral flourishes and the sort of discombobulated tones like the ones Thomas Koner dabbles in.
Monarch Of The Sky has a beautiful slow intro, butterflies calling from one side of a forest to the other, Violas gently flutter. The choir sound like they are sequestered deep in the cloisters echoing round a huge, vaulted chapel, darker tones appear as the Monarch slowly, gracefully descends from the heavens down to earth once more.
The Album closes with I Stand Amazed that I don't own more of Jill’s rather spectral music, calm keyboard runs float over the woozy synth tones to help you feel amazed at what Jill has done with this classic musical texts.
Find out more at https://www.dragcity.com/products/earthly-pleasures https://www.facebook.com/jillfrasermusic https://www.jillfrasermusic.com/ https://jillfraser.bandcamp.com/album/earthly-pleasures
