Jim Kirkwood In the House of the Crowman Play: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi   Download: Lo-Fi   Mid-Fi   Hi-Fi (Excerpt from track 'The Midnight Church')

This is the first free disc for Kirkwood 'Hellfire' Club members. 'Where the Nightjar Dreams' explodes into life then soft ethereal sighing vocal pads momentarily quieten things down. More crashes herald a vast symphonic section which is superb in its own right but gets even better within one and a half minutes when a rhythm starts up as well as a virtual guitar lead line and we blast forward with still more urgency than before. Calmness, of a rather malevolent variety, returns in the third minute. A slow mournful lead line can just be heard amongst unintelligible demonic utterances then we get more rhythmic flourishes from which spews a million mile an hour sequence along with a more melodic but just as devastating partner. Another rhythm enters as the afterburner is engaged. Spectres fly through a stormy sky increasing the excitement level still further. In the eleventh minute things are stripped back to a single sequence and atmospheric effects. Little melodic touches begin to form then another rumbling sequence surges forward. And what a sequence it is. Turn up the volume and feel the floor shake! We finish with an excellent atmospheric cosmic section.

'Caught in a Dance of Light' commences with a lovely flute sound over strange nature type effects. It all has a very primordial feel to it, like nothing I have heard Jim compose before- doesn't stop it from being bloody brilliant though! Dramatic fizzing electronic stabs leap out and a deep reverberating loop gives that hint of menace. Ghostly lead lines nestle into the mix. A more prominent melody arrives a couple of minutes later, all rather curious it is too. Orchestral stabs replace it and even more rhythm is brought in along with a laser fire lead. We eventually settle down into a steady groove which doesn't let up until a couple of minutes from the end. 'Pentagram' has a lovely brooding beginning with a hint of mystery. It's all rather visual, atmospheric stuff. In the third minute a rhythmic loop and sequence are added but again this is all done in a rather different way for Jim though the moods created are as familiar as ever. By the seventh minute a more bass laden sequence has stormed into proceedings to which an equally awesome second one is added. Now these are typical of Kirkwood of old and marry up the traditional and new styles perfectly. We are now fairly thundering along with fantastic little melodic touches coming and going keeping the excitement locked in. With four minutes to go all sequences depart and we are left with mournful strings, strange electronic effects and brief vocal samples.