Morne: Shadows (2013)

An Upward Glance of Beauty

Review by joanismylover, the third metal attorney.

First time Morne listener. No reference point in the discography. Don't know if this is more of the same, a complete u-turn, or adding a little flavor to the existing recipe. Long time doom fan. Lots of reference points in the catalog. Jamming Shadows. Trying to avoid the name drop reference check. Finding it difficult. But the neck is snapping, the head is nodding.

When Isis (or is it ISIS?) went adrift in the ocean, some lamented. Not this author. Bored by the recent output. When Pelican went from bringing the slow boiling thunder to "crafting songs," this reviewer lost interest. Was it only a dream? No need to wed these bands. So many great doom/sludge/"post-rock" bands out there. Rosetta. Rwake. Yob. Battilus. Samothrace. Add Morne to the list.


Morne tick all the boxes and get the deal right. At a distance we get the slow build, the atmosphere. The build. The mourning. It's sad, but not sentimental. It's lumbering, but not mind-numbing. And then we get the thunder. The neck snapping. The head nodding. You can stomp to this sad stuff. You can almost slam to it. The songs are long but the album's not. The names check the atmosphere and the atmosphere lays the foundation for the crush. Not sure about the cover. Can't hardly see it. But they got some sweet solos. Over lumbering riffs, and commanding drumming.

But what gets these sludge doom funeral post rock tunes the big thumbs up, is its upward glance. The two-song center and anchor of the album - "A Distance" and "New Dawn" - post doom of the highest order - highlight this the best. Never enjoyable to be all gloom. All death. No life. Amid the thunder, from the swamp, from Morne a ray of light. An upward glance of beauty. And then it's gone.

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4 out of 5 stars