Mystical serpentine guitars wind around a deliberate and distant percussion, through which a rumbling bass weaves, luring the listener in on 'Abyssinia,' the first movement of this truly monumental and megalithic post-rock four-tracker from Coil Sea. Improvised over the course of just a handful of sessions by Dave Heumann and Matthew Pierce from Arbouretum with the assistance of a couple of mates, 'Coil Sea' is colossal from every angle. 'Abysinnia' is the shortest of the four tracks, at seven and a half minutes, and the soundscapes created during these first minutes are as big as the Sahara and every bit as timeless.
'Dolphins in the Coil Sea' is a little more disjointed, rather more overtly improvised, but noodles along nicely, with no shortage of changes in tempo or direction, with the soaring guitar solo that runs for almost its entire duration reaching a series of crescendos as the jazz-infused percussion duels with the strings. There are moments it all sounds a little too chaotic and disorganised, but these moments are countered by those where everything comes together magnificently to create something wonderful and unexpected.
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A drifting, meandering mellowness emanates from 'Revert to Dirt,' which segues into 'Waking the Naga' by means of a bridge of ambient drone. This closing track steps things up a notch, driven by a relentless drum beat that cuts through the fuzzed and fading guitar lines.
Taken as a whole - the way 'Coil Sea' is surely intended - there are moments of great beauty and atmosphere to be found here, although there are equally moments when the lack of structure and the meandering guitars that collide against - rather than work with - the rhythm section. While over-rehearsal would have reduced the levels of spontaneity, I can't help that a little more practice and planning before setting the tape rolling would have been beneficial. As it stands, the full potential of Coil Sea's oceanically enormous sound isn't fully realised.
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