Caul goes all out with 12 tracks of stunningly magnified sound. One may compare some sections of the errant melodies within to Post-Rock bands such as God is an Astronaut, or World Music group Dead Can Dance and Neo-Classical group Arcana. In actuality, Caul embodies all of these works and more- this is pure genius and an incomparable work of art.
The first track, "Wires", gives us a slow, trodding synth of discordant echo and space. The strums of the guitar bring to mind a deserted world, while the entrance of low snares and a decidedly arabic sound flesh out the details of the endless desert, stretching outwards to the horizon. The song proceeds gradually and changes readily, such that we are almost never left with stale material. The haunting piano melody that heralds the coming end of the track works perfectly with the aforementioned build up, bringing the track to a solemn close.
The second track, "Relic", begins with eerie, organ-like notes next to vacuous strings. A drum starts up and and other effects are layered on until we have a very organic composition of sounds. The bass sounds out in the background and we hear the rhythmic claps one would expect to hear on anything but this. But it works. The tracks peaks with a crescendo of layered sound, quickly petering off with organ synths and notes that fade into silence.
The third track, "Anointing", starts up with a ringing and a slapping sound reminiscent of a Dead Can Dance song, if Dead Can Dance were playing in the aftermath of a sandstorm. Many of the tracks on this album sound very arabian and oriental in influence, and "Anointing" fits that theme nicely...until this theme changes. "Anointing" unexpectedly launches into an amped up tirade of flickering synths and heavy string hits that brings to mind something grandly majestic, but at the same time darkly horrific.
The fourth track, "Sea of Fossils", opens with an antiquated sound bed of pops and sweeping stringed melodies. The oud is present, as is what I am guessing is a modified tabla. The vast space that echoes here is absolutely amazing in its breadth, Inon Zur eat your heart out. The names of the tracks seem to synch up quite nicely, as I am truly envisioning a sea of bones and fossils baking in the merciless sun.
The fifth track, "Desert Buoy", creates distant echoes and crackling sounds that sweep in and out of the audible range. Metallic vibrations sound off as the eerie synths continue. There isn't too little- but there isn't too much either. Caul strikes an almost perfect balance with the various effects of the track. The buildup is gradual and laden with more instruments that give off a dry, windy sound. The arabian drums and driving sirocco esque sounds in the background give perfect partnership to the primary melody of the track. Though I can't tell if that is a harp or some other ethereal instrument, the eventual effect and extraordinary balance inherent in this track strikes fine and true on the ears. One of the highlights of the album to be sure.
The sixth track, "The Long Dust", the album's eponymous track, brings deeper, slower drums overlaid with chimes and bells of a thoroughly oriental bend. The track flows easily into in an experimental exposition of synths and low sounds. The sounds here are very calming and low, yet they quickly mutate into a faster tempo of noises and melodies. More and more sounds and effects are layered on until it dissolves quickly into a quieter soundscape devoid of naught but echoes and reverberations that hastily fade away. Compared to some of the other tracks on the album, the eponymous track here is a little disappointing- I was expecting a bit more from this one.
The seventh track, "Veil of Sand", starts us off with a much more sonorous hum and synth, quickly leading into an instrumentation that is unlike anything that has come before. The sound and melody here is of a more relaxed kind, akin to a sort of catharsis after the previous track's shortcomings. The tempo and cowbells in the background give it a sort of desert resort feel, a very different sound from what Caul has shown us thus far. The tracks ends much like the others- quickly leading off into silence with echoes and quick bursts of sound.
The eighth track, "Pilgrimage", shows us how masterful Caul is when it comes to giving something almost entirely different on every track. Aquatic pops and drips echo about just before a slow string comes to the forefront as metallic hits and epic synths reverberate outwards. The track conjures up the image of the industries of man long left to nature, and now devoid of all but green and growth. Or perhaps just the wind and air. The metallic hits create a melody of octaves and pitch differences that is quite enjoyable to listen to amidst the various other background noises and aquatic sounds. Unlike the other tracks, "Pilgrimage" leaves off with a single note that echoes outwards into silence, a nice touch to such a well designed track.
The ninth track, "Red Lightning", begins with a hearty thunderclap of lightning above. Wet strings and noises slowly start up while distortion and mirage hazes leak out of the soundscape. The strings here are much like those on "Veil of Sand"- peaceful and relaxed, albeit with a hint of haste. What is perhaps a sort of buildup to a later crescendo picks up more and more steam with a progressive melody that shifts from one landscape to another in dizzying drifts of drums and reverberations. No crescendo is reached, and the song, perhaps disappointingly, dissolves in a sprightly thunderclap.
The tenth track, "The Road", brings us to yet another of Caul's varied talents: the exposition of strings. Dry and focused here, the guitars and faint wooden hits bring a strange miasma of noises and possible paths of composition. Caul eschews instead a progressive, organic expression of sounds that yet again bear little resemblance to what we find elsewhere on the album. It is truly as if almost each and every track is a microcosm of itself, with it's own talent and genius.
The penultimate track, "Dunelight", hits low and high with reverbs and echoes of arabian and not-arabian sounds in an interesting mix of creepy and beautiful. Those eerie metallic noises are back from "Pilgrimage", and they continue here in a surprising and exceedingly awesome way. Certainly another highlight, the progression of melodies and sounds on "Dunelight" are perfectly done, and my only complaint is that this track is not 10 minutes longer.
The final track, "The Unwept Waste", carves deeper into that melon of sound that the preceeding album has done with an ultimate blast of grand noise. The ambient is here, and it is fast replaced by a fast tempo of furious drums and strings wailing over a female vocalist that captures the sorrow of "The Long Dust" perfectly, for the desert is both life and death all in one.
Caul's "The Long Dust" is a veritable masterpiece of both dark, acoustic ambient sound. The mixing is nigh perfect and the tracks each offer something almost completely different, as if they are each different colours of aural noise. Though it may have it's shortcomings, they are few and far between. As eerie as it is masterful and as grand and majestic as it is echoing and sonorous, "The Long Dust" ranks as one of my all time favorite albums and examples of a unique spin on dark ambient. You owe it to yourself as a fan of ambient music to buy this album.
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