National Music Reviews
Bremen
Eclipsed
Blackest Ever Black
Street: 12.17
Bremen = Hawkwind + The Oscillation + Wooden Shjips
No modifier is too overused to explain this Swedish krautspacedrone rock duo’s latest longplayer on Blackest Ever Black. It is full of ever-repeating guitar/organ/drum lines falling on top of each other and then marching lockstep on an undeviating course to some future ravedeath. Eclipsed exercises locked-in kraut grooves, repetitious piano lines and swirling organs to create a type of ‘70s-style psych prognosticating the real bummer of the present age. The exoskeleton of Bremen’s compositions comprises repeated, minimal lines, but within these gathering dark clouds are droning meditations on the end of the world—or worse. Crushed under the weight of its running time, Bremen’s latest is best when accompanied with tasks that require marathon-length attention spans and dedicated focus, like writing record reviews about the aforementioned music. –Ryan Hall