Review: Gilded Form ‘Gilded Form’
This self-titled record by Dutch/American trio Gilded Form is a wash, in the best sense possible. It’s a single forty-minute-long track that pours, rather than drones, out of the speakers. It’s a tripping person’s dream come true, in the form of an ethereal song section that never has to end. The influence of Earth is heavily felt in the glacial sense of tempo, which the drumming by Rene Aquarius keeps ever present, appearing to be lurking for a groove among the depths of an intoxicant fog, weaved by the never-ending chant of the keys and the anguished moaning of the guitar.
This is music which will often be accompanied by substances, but which in and of itself seeks to instil a particular mindset and one that we can only attempt to describe as a meditative mood.
In an age of the thirty-second Spotify track being outlawed, and instantly generated pop music, releasing a record such as this is an artistic statement which speaks volumes about its intent, defiantly standing against the reduction of music to cheap background noise, and insistent on upholding the value of self-expression.
At around ten minutes, there is an uplifting turn towards a sense of release and relaxation, manifested by a slight change in the harmony being wielded, with only the apparent addition of bass-heavy piano chords. This sense of calm only lasts a few minutes before we return to the more bluesy and tense musical patterns.
While the synth of Otto Kokke is a solid block of sound that pretty much provides the same colours throughout large sections of the song and keeps the overall sound somewhat homogenous, the guitar of Nick Millevoi is the engine of expressivity. Its diminutive, but notoriously fuzzy sound gets shaped by the slightest alteration in picking and varies with every lap of the musical forms that traverse the music.
the guitar of Nick Millevoi is the engine of expressivity…
The keys begin to shift somewhat past the middle of the song, right as they transition to another moment of uplift, providing a very welcome release. In meditation, the mind is both engaged with itself as well as receptive to the environment and while this music provides ample space for the mind’s eye to focus on, the eerie sense of tension present for most of the track could become a drag without these uplifting sections, highlighted by more organ and piano sounds. The song ends with a new interplay between guitar and synth, which brings Pink Floyd to mind, and provides something of a synthesis of all the vibes present throughout.
The cover art shows a bizarre and colourful form, impossible and mysterious, which doesn’t appear gilded, but instead has been shaped by some kind of tide, defying our understanding as we see it emerge from the depth, much like the music itself.
Mixed and mastered by Marlon Wolterink at White Noise Studio, Gilded Form’s self-titled album was released on December 1st through Burning World Records.
Label: Burning World Records
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Scribed by: Goro Riffs
